Australia: Eiger tries to stretch win streak to three in Wauchope Cup at Port Macquarie

In May, Eiger won consecutive races in a two-week span for the third time.

A winner of 8 of 26 starts, Eiger has never won three straight races, but has an excellent chance to do so when he starts favored in Sunday’s Wauchope Cup at 7 1/2 furlongs at Port Macquarie Racecourse on the Australian east coast.

Eiger’s recent wins occurred in seven-furlong handicaps at minor tracks in the New South Wales countryside, and a start at Port Macquarie continues that theme. Trained by Brett Cavanough, Eiger drew the rail in a full field of 14 and will be ridden by Mikayla Weir, who was aboard for the 5-year-old gelding’s most recent win, which came at Inverell Racecourse on May 27.

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Weir will be tasked with working out a favorable trip for Eiger from an inside post. The gelding runs from a stalking position, which should make things easier since he is not reliant on setting the pace or closing from the back of the field.

Eiger has never raced at Port Macquarie, while other contenders Acoustix and Relucent have won at the venue.

Acoustix, third behind Eiger at Inverell, is trained at Port Macquarie by Tas Morton. Acoustix has one win in seven starts at Port Macquarie, with the win in a six-furlong handicap in January 2020. Since the start at Inverell, Acoustix was third in a one-mile handicap at Taree, losing by a length to Texas Storm after setting the pace.

Texas Storm, who ended a 14-race losing streak since last July at Taree, is part of the Wauchope Cup field.

Relucent has not raced since December, and won a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Port Macquarie last October.

Since early April, Relucent has appeared in four five-furlong schooling races, finishing second or third in each. The 5-year-old Relucent has won following a layoff.

Port Macquarie has an eight-race program beginning at 9:45 p.m. Eastern or 6:45 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.