Australia: Inquiry might simply be too fast for rivals in Gold Coast handicap
The consistency that the gelding Inquiry has displayed in recent months, along with his speed, will make him a deserving favorite in a seven-furlong handicap at Gold Coast Racecourse in Australia on Friday.
The 5-year-old has won 5 of 7 starts since returning from a 10-week break in mid-March. He won four consecutive races for trainer Jareh Wehlow and a race in late May for current trainer John Smerdon.
Inquiry has had six trainers in his 22-race career. He has won for four of those stables.
In Friday’s race, Inquiry will carry top weight of 132 pounds in a field of 10 and will be ridden by Ryan Wiggins, who was aboard for a front-running win in a six-furlong handicap at Gold Coast on May 29. Paul Hammersley rode Inquiry to a third as the 2-5 favorite in a six-furlong handicap at Gold Coast on June 6. Inquiry closed some ground to lose by 2 1/4 lengths.
In his four victories from mid-March to late April, Inquiry set the pace, including in a seven-furlong race at Townsville on March 28.
The other runners in Friday’s race do not have the same sprint speed as Inquiry. Nothingforthepress, a gelding who has not raced since January, and My Giulano, unraced since November, have been near the front in longer races at times.
The seven-furlong distance will be relatively new for the gelding Ready for Danger, who had a busy 2019, winning twice in 12 starts. Ready for Danger won consecutive starts in October and November, but tailed off at the end of the year, finishing 11th and last in his final two starts.
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Ready for Danger was rested in the early months this year and will have his first start since December on Friday. The distance is shorter than his best trip, judging from his winning form late last year in races at 1 1/8 miles and 1 1/4 miles, but the 6-year-old has won at seven furlongs.
Ready for Danger is second in the weights at 130 pounds.
First post time at Gold Coast is 9:40 p.m. Eastern or 6:40 p.m. Pacific on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.