Australia: French-bred Aristonous 'well-placed' for Nowra Cup

The French-bred gelding Aristonous has had a diverse career in 11 starts since October 2021.

Aristonous won his fourth start in France in early 2022 and later that year was third in a hurdle race at about 2 1/4 miles at Fontwell Park in Britain.

Since June, Aristonous has run in flat races in Australia, with success. He won his first two starts in the country in June, and appears well-placed in his first start since early August in the Nowra Cup at tiny Nowra Racecourse on Saturday evening.

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Run at a mile, the Nowra Cup has long-term ramifications. The first two finishers earn berths to the $1.8 million Big Dance Stakes at a mile at Randwick next November, provided they are among the 20 highest-rated runners for the one-mile race.

The Big Dance Stakes is restricted to horses that qualify by racing in handicaps in the year before the race at tracks in the state of New South Wales.

Aristonous may be favored in the Nowra Cup. The race drew a field of 11. As of Friday, Aristonous and Clear Choice were the 4-1 co-favorites.

Nowra has an eight-race program beginning at 9:29 p.m. Eastern or 6:29 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Aristonous is a closer, while Clear Choice tends to run from a stalking position.

Clear Choice is unlucky not to be on a two-race winning streak. A winner of 3 of 10 starts, Clear Choice won a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on Nov. 15 and was beaten a nose in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs at Canterbury Park on Nov. 24. Both of those tracks are near Sydney and often draw competitive fields.

Money From The Sky, a 5-year-old gelding by Frankel, can pose a threat from off the pace. Money From The Sky won a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs at Canterbury on Nov. 17 in his first start since early June.

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