Australia: Guizot will benefit from good ground in Swan Hill Cup

A good turf course may be what the veteran gelding Guizot needs to end a four-race losing streak and win the Swan Hill Cup for the first time. Sunday’s $78,412 Swan Hill Cup is a race for milers in Australia.

Guizot, a 7-year-old Irish-bred, was sixth in the 2018 Swan Hill Cup and second by a head in the race last year. The Swan Hill Cup is the signature race at Swan Hill Racecourse, located well north of Melbourne in the Australian interior.

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Guizot, a winner of 9 of 56 starts, won the listed Anniversary Vase at a mile at Caulfield Racecourse on March 14, but has struggled since then in listed stakes and lucrative handicaps, often racing on heavy or soft turf. Trained by Aaron Purcell, Guizot was 11th in a one-mile handicap at Flemington Racecourse on heavy turf on May 23.

Conditions are expected to be good for the Swan Hill Cup, which will have a maximum field of 14. Guizot will carry 127.8 pounds compared to 134.4 pounds for top weight Achernar Star.

A 5-year-old gelding, Achernar Star was second by a head in a seven-furlong handicap at Flemington as the 2-1 favorite on May 16, racing near the front throughout. Achernar Star is winless in eight races since the listed Grandstand Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in Perth in March 2019.

The Swan Hill Cup is the eighth race on a nine-race program that begins at 10:30 p.m. Eastern, or 7:30 p.m. Pacific, on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

The race conditions should suit Heptagon, a 6-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding who won a seven-furlong handicap at Caulfield Racecourse on May 30 as a stalker. Heptagon has won 8 of 29 starts and will have his Swan Hill debut this weekend. Heptagon will carry 124.5 pounds.

Swan Hill is familiar territory for Top Fred, who won a maiden race and a handicap at six furlongs over the course in April and early May. Top Fred was ninth of 12 in a handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs at Donald Racecourse on Friday, however.