Australia: Classy Joe will carry topweight in Sunday handicap

A hefty weight assignment and an oddly-run race led to a third-place finish for the veteran Australian gelding Classy Joe in a marathon handicap at Narrandera Racecourse on July 16.

A week later, Classy Joe has a more favorable assignment in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Wagga Wagga Racecourse on Sunday evening.

Classy Joe, rated as a possible favorite along with The Herald, will carry topweight of 136.6 pounds, considerably more than The Herald at 123. At Narrandera, Classy Joe carried 144.4 pounds, much more than race winner Eva’s Deel at 127.8 pounds, or runner-up Cracking Dawn at 121.

Classy Joe was second early in the race at 1 5/16 miles at Narrandera, dropped back to third when two other runners were aggressively ridden midway through the race and still closed well to miss by a head.

:: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing

An 8-year-old, Classy Joe has won 10 of 62 starts. He won a handicap at about a mile at Werribee Racecourse on July 9.

Course conditions should be in favor of Classy Joe at Narrandera. The turf course is expected to be heavy. Classy Joe has won 2 of 6 starts on heavy turf.

The Herald has won 3 of 5 starts on heavy turf. A winner of 3 of 11 starts in his career, The Herald, a 4-year-old gelding, won a lower-level handicap at a mile at Wagga Wagga on July 15 to end a three-race losing streak.

This is the first time The Herald has been tried at 1 5/16 miles. Two of the wins in his promising career have been at a mile.

Classy Joe and The Herald are part of a field of 10 in the fourth race on an eight-race program that begins at 10:35 p.m. Eastern or 7:35 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Aside from the two leading contenders, there will be support for Victory at Omaha, who was 11th of 12 in the Narrandera Cup at a mile on July 16 against a tougher field. Victory at Omaha won as recently as June 25 in a one-mile handicap at Narrandera.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.