Australia: Inverloch brings early speed to Warrnambool Cup

A bold front-running style has put Inverloch in the best form of his career in recent months and given the 6-year-old gelding a topweight assignment in Wednesday’s $144,225 Warrnambool Cup at the racecourse of the same name in southern Australia.

Inverloch, a 6-year-old Irish-bred gelding, has won two of his last four starts, including the Group 3 Easter Cup at 1 1/4 miles on April 11 at Caulfield Racecourse. Inverloch was the 3-1 favorite in the $82,500 Easter Cup and held off a threat from Midterm to win by a head.

The Warrnambool Cup at 1 7/16 miles is the feature race on the second and final day of the track’s May carnival, which has been reduced by one day because of the coronavirus outbreak.

First post time at Warrnambool is 10 p.m. Eastern, or 7 p.m., Pacific, on Monday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Inverloch, who will be ridden by Michael Dee, will share top weight of 136.6 pounds, or 62 kilograms, with Ventura Storm, who was eighth in the Easter Cup. A 7-year-old Irish-bred gelding, Ventura Storm was a Group 2 winner at 1 9/16 miles at Moonee Valley in 2018.

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Earlier in his career, Ventura Storm was second in the Group 1 English St. Leger at Doncaster in 2016 and won the Group 1 Gran Premio Jockey Club in Italy that year. Ventura Storm was 21st in the 2017 Melbourne Cup.

Inverloch was 6-1 in future-book betting on Monday behind Too Close The Sun, a 4-year-old gelding who has won three of his last four starts.

Too Close The Sun, who was listed at 2-1, tends to run near the front. He won a handicap at about 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley from a stalking position on March 20 and led throughout a handicap at 1 5/16 miles on April 19 at Terang Racecourse.

Too Close The Sun will carry 123 pounds and will start in his first six-figure race in the Warrnambool Cup. A 4-year-old Southern Hemisphere gelding by the Street Cry stallion Carlton House, Too Close the Sun has won 6 of 9 starts since August.