Australia: Ezekeil looks to advance to rich final in Country Championship qualifier
Ezekeil, the 4-year-old Australian gelding, is specializing in starts in lucrative restricted races this year.
After winning a rich sales progeny race, the $349,500 Magic Millions Country Cup at Gold Coast Racecourse on Jan. 14, Ezekeil will have his second start of the year in the $100,900 Country Championship qualifier at Tamworth Racecourse on Saturday evening.
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The qualifier is restricted to horses trained at stables located in the countryside in the state of New South Wales, and not with trainers at metropolitan tracks in Sydney. The first two finishers of the seven-furlong qualifier at Tamworth earn berths to the $336,400 final at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on April 1.
There are nine qualifying races. The race at Tamworth on Saturday evening is the fifth in the series which continues into March.
Ezekeil, a winner of 5 of 15 starts, has won his last two starts, including a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Armidale Racecourse on Dec. 7. In the Magic Millions Country Cup, Ezekeil closed from fourth to win by 3 1/2 lengths.
Ezekeil was the 5-2 favorite in early betting as of Friday for the Tamworth race, and one of five horses in the entries trained by Cody Morgan, who is based at Tamworth. Morgan has four runners in the 14-horse field, and another among six on the also-eligible list.
The consistent gelding Akasawa will have his 2023 debut in the Country Championship qualifier. A winner of 5 of 8 starts, Akasawa has not raced since a second by a neck in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs at Canterbury Racecourse on Dec. 16.
Akasawa is a threat from off the pace along with Running Bear, a 5-year-old mare who was a game second in a six-furlong handicap at Randwick on Feb. 4 in her first start since July. Running Bear won her only previous start at Tamworth, a seven-furlong maiden race in October 2021.
Tamworth has an eight-race program beginning at 8:55 p.m. Eastern or 5:55 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
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