Australia: Hardspot must carry more weight in Newcastle handicap
In her brief career, Hardspot has turned her quickness into four wins in seven starts at minor tracks in Australia.
A 5-year-old Southern Hemisphere mare, Hardspot has excelled at five and six furlongs, which makes her presence in a six-furlong handicap at Newcastle Racecourse on Thursday all the more intriguing.
Hardspot won a six-furlong handicap at Newcastle on April 11 and starts in a similar race Thursday, with a higher weight assignment. Hardspot will carry 129 pounds, less than topweight Oakfield Twilight at 140 and a pound less than Trophies Galore. Hardspot beat Trophies Galore by 1 1/2 lengths earlier this month while carrying 123 pounds, six less than her rival.
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The Newcastle program begins at 11:10 p.m. Eastern, or 8:10 p.m. Pacific, is one of several Australian tracks that will be simulcast across American time zones late Wednesday and early Thursday morning. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
Hardspot, trained by Brett Cavanough, has set the pace in her last four starts. She has won 3 of 5 starts this year, all on soft turf, but did win a maiden race on good turf last April in her debut. Thursday, the turf is expected to be rated good at Newcastle, which is located north of Sydney.
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Oakfield Twilight, a winner of 4 of 27 starts, was 13th of 14 in the Group 3 Newmarket Stakes at seven furlongs on March 11 at Newcastle in his only start of 2020. A 5-year-old gelding trained by Damien Lane, Oakfield Twilight won three races last September and October, including consecutive starts in sprints at Newcastle.
Similar to Hardspot, Oakfield Twilight tends to run near the front.
Trophies Galore, trained by Andrew Robinson, is a closer who could be the beneficiary of a fast pace. Trophies Galore won a handicap at about 6 1/2 furlongs on March 27 at Muswellbrook Racecourse. Robinson is based at that track.