Australia: Distance of Ballarat handicap should suit Namakwa

Three races into his 2022 season in Australia, the 4-year-old gelding Namakwa is back at marathon distances he clearly prefers.

Namakwa won for the first time this year in the Stawell Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Stawell Racecourse on April 17 and starts at the same distance in a turf handicap at Ballarat Racecourse on Sunday.

Trained by the powerful stable of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Namakwa has won 4 of 12 starts, with three of the wins at 1 1/4 miles or farther.

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In the Stawell Cup, Namakwa closed from sixth of nine at 7-1 to win by a head, ending a four-race losing streak. Jockey Harry Coffey had the mount at Stawell and takes the ride at Ballarat.

Namakwa is part of a field of 13 in the Ballarat handicap and breaks from post 12. The outside draw should not be a major issue since Namakwa runs from off the pace. Though based at Ballarat, this is Namakwa’s first start at the track.

Heir to the Throne and Taramansour are two of Namakwa’s chief rivals.

Heir to the Throne has not raced since he finished fifth in a handicap at 1 5/8 miles at Cranbourne Racecourse last October. A winner of 7 of 43 starts, Heir to the Throne is winless in four starts since winning a handicap at 1 1/2 miles at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne last August. This is a suitable race for Heir to the Throne’s comeback, but may be shorter than his preferred trip at this stage of his career.

Taramansour has won 4 of 16 starts, and was last of 11 in a handicap at 1 5/16 miles at Sandown on April 18 in his second start of the year. Taramansour, trained by Matt Cumani, won three consecutive races last August and September at distances ranging from 1 5/16 to 1 1/2 miles.

Ballarat has an eight-race program beginning at 10:30 p.m. Eastern or 7:30 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.