Australia: Dimaggio hitting on all cylinders coming into Hawkesbury stamina test

Dimaggio is a four-time winner in Australia who, with any luck, would have five wins and be on a two-race winning streak in advance of a start in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury Racecourse near Sydney across American time zones on Wednesday evening.

Dimaggio, a 6-year-old gelding, won a six-furlong handicap at Kembla Grange Racecourse on Sept. 10 to end a 10-race losing streak dating to August 2021. Dimaggio was beaten a nose in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury on Sept. 22. Dimaggio led a stride before and after the wire, but was beaten on the line by Damaged, who carried eight fewer pounds.

Dimaggio carries top weight of 133 pounds against nine rivals at Hawkesbury this week. Hawkesbury has a nine-race program beginning at 10:40 p.m. Eastern or 7:40 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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Dimaggio has had 26 starts. This is his fourth race since returning from a layoff of more than six months in late August. During the time off, Dimaggio was sent from trainer Kevin Corstens to Kim Waugh, who has won with a solid 8 of her last 50 runners from July 12 through Saturday.

Aside from carrying a high weight, Dimaggio will face a stamina test at Hawkesbury. He has never won beyond six furlongs. This race is his first start at 7 1/2 furlongs since a fifth-place finish at Moonee Valley in February, his last start before the layoff.

Dimaggio can stalk the pace and will be in pursuit of the outsiders Vienna Rain and Noble Cause.

The lightly raced Diamond Diesel will be favored and poses a major threat to Dimaggio. A winner of 2 of 5 starts, Diamond Diesel won consecutive starts in July and August – a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs and a handicap at six furlongs. A 6-year-old gelding, he closed from off the pace in those wins.

More recently, Diamond Diesel was third by 2 1/4 lengths in a one-mile handicap at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Sept. 17 against a slightly higher class of handicap runners than he will face in this field.

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