Australia: Improving Kovalica puts win streak on the line

The rapidly improving Kovalica will get a class test in his stakes debut in the Group 3 Ascot Green Grand Prix at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane, Australia, on Friday evening across American time zones.

It’s a race Kovalica is expected to dominate.

Trained by Chris Waller, Kovalica has won the last three starts of his four-race career, rising through the handicap rankings. In the $167,000 Ascot Green Grand Prix for southern hemisphere 3-year-olds, Kovalica will carry equal weight of 125.6 pounds with his seven rivals.

The Ascot Green Grand Prix is run at 1 5/16 miles, a new distance for the New Zealand-bred Kovalica, but one that should not be an issue. Kovalica won a handicap against 3-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles at Doomben Racecourse on Dec. 3 in the longest race of his career.

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For the Ascot Green Grand Prix, Kovalica was 4-5 in early betting as of Thursday, a strong choice compared to Noah ‘N’ A Deel at 9-2 and Tradition at 5-1.

Kovalica will be ridden by Jason Orman, who was aboard for the win at Doomben. Kovalica closed from third of seven to win that race by slightly more than 2 1/4 lengths.

Tradition, trained by James Cummings, has a similar running style, which has led to consecutive wins, both at 1 3/16 miles – a maiden race at Newcastle on Oct. 29, and a handicap at Canterbury Racecourse on Nov. 25.

Noah ‘N’ A Deel, trained by Les Kelly, tends to run from farther off the pace. A winner of 3 of 8 starts, Noah ‘N’ A Deel won a handicap at 1 1/8 miles at Sunshine Coast on Nov. 19 and was second to Kovalica at Eagle Farm on Dec. 3, getting closest to the winner at the finish.

Eagle Farm has a nine-race program beginning at 9:03 p.m. Eastern or 6:03 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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