Australia: Demon Blood has experience edge in Bendigo feature

With three career starts, Demon Blood is the veteran among the leading candidates in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Bendigo Racecourse on Wednesday evening across North American time zones.

Three runners with less experience – Bews, Obfuscation, and Thalursian – have equally appealing records that could propel them to their second wins.

Demon Blood, trained by Clinton McDonald, won his second start in a maiden race in January and returned from a layoff of more than six months to finish third by 1 1/4 lengths in a six-furlong handicap at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne on Aug. 7. Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, Demon Blood closed from fourth, a stalking style the 4-year-old gelding displayed in his maiden win.

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At Bendigo, Demon Blood drew post 3 in a field of 13 and will be ridden by Ben Melham, who was aboard for the Sandown race.

Demon Blood should have a pace to follow from Lovin’ Laughs, a true veteran compared to his rivals with four wins in 21 starts. Lovin’ Laughs is winless in his last three starts, however.

Bews won his debut at Sale in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at odds of 3-10 on Aug. 11, closing from fifth of 11 to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Bews drew post 9 at Bendigo, and is another runner likely to race from a tracking position.

Obfuscation has not raced since last September when he won a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Bendigo in his second start. If the layoff is not a burden, Obfuscation is expected to post a threat in the stretch.

Thalursian won a maiden race at about 6 1/2 furlongs at Geelong on July 1, his most recent start. He was 4-5 and won by two lengths. Thalursian has drawn the outside post in this field, which could be a bother considering the relatively short run to the turn.

Bendigo has a nine-race program beginning at 10:30 p.m. Eastern or 7:30 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.