Australia: Dragon’s Shadow, Alloway worth watching in Monday handicap

Dragon’s Shadow and Alloway were no match for Ambitious Prince in the Tuncurry Cup in Australia on Sept. 9, finishing second and third in the race at 1 5/16 miles on turf.

The extended trip suits Dragon’s Shadow and Alloway who race over that distance in a handicap at Forbes Racecourse on Monday evening across American time zones. This time, Ambitious Prince is not in the field.

In early betting Sunday, Alloway was the 2-1 favorite in a field of nine, while Dragon’s Shadow was an interesting price at 9-2.

Forbes has an eight-race program beginning at 11:15 p.m. Eastern, or 8:15 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. The program was scheduled to be held at Orange Racecourse, but was switched to Forbes after more than three inches of rain fell at Orange in recent days.

Alloway, a winner of 2 of 18 starts, has lost his last four starts since win in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Wyong Racecourse in June. At Tuncurry, Alloway was fourth of sixth early and led briefly in the stretch before losing by about 3 1/2 lengths.

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With the exception of Dragon’s Shadow, this field appears easier than what Alloway has faced in recent starts.

Dragon’s Shadow won a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Bathurst on Aug. 22 in a lower class level than what he will face at Forbes. A winner of 7 of 61 starts, the 8-year-old Dragon’s Shadow has won three races at 1 1/4 miles and has a consistent style of closing steadily in the stretch. He was beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Ambitious Prince at Tuncurry.

The win at Bathurst ended an 11-race losing streak since August 2021 for Dragon’s Shadow. The race at Forbes will be his 12th start this year.

There are other veteran geldings in the field at Forbes, including Careering Away, an 8-year-old who has won 10 of 77 starts. This race may be too short for Careering Away who has won four times at distances of 1 3/8 miles and 1 1/2 miles. He can be a factor from off the pace.

This is the sixth start for the promising Sorokin, who won for the first time in his career in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Wyong Racecourse on June 2 in his third start and has since finished 13th in June and later fifth in a one-mile handicap at Queanbeyan Racecourse on Sept. 5. The latter race seems too short for Sorokin, who was 3-1 as of Sunday.