Australia: Jester Halo has rail in fourth start for Hutchinson

Jester Halo has had a couple of stable transfers and far more wins than losses in Australia since she finished third in the Group 3 Matron Stakes at Flemington Racecourse in March 2018.

Still racing at the advanced age of 8, a rarity for a flat mare, Jester Halo will have her fourth start for trainer Vanessa Hutchinson in a seven-furlong handicap at Warrnambool Racecourse, west of Melbourne, on Monday.

Jester Halo, who has won 7 of 38 starts, was third by a length in a seven-furlong handicap at Murray Bridge Racecourse on Jan. 3, her best finish in three starts for Hutchinson since returning from an eight-month layoff in mid-November.

For Monday’s race, Jester Halo has drawn the rail in a field of 10. While not an ideal post, Jester Halo tends to run as a stalker. A seven-furlong race at Warrnambool starts from a backstretch chute, very similar to a layout at an American track, which should give jockey Christine Puls an opportunity to give Jester Halo a favorable position through the first half-mile.

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This is a race without an obvious pacesetter, although Jazz Star has been effective racing near the front. On Dec. 16 at Caulfield, Jazz Star won a handicap at about seven furlongs by racing as a stalker.

Kuramae, a 4-year-old Australian-bred filly, is the youngest starter in the race and has decent credentials despite losing her last six starts. Kuramae was fourth by 4 1/2 lengths in a seven-furlong handicap at Flemington on Jan. 1 behind Hasstobegood, who won by four lengths.

Kuramae has had two starts since returning from a layoff of more than four months in early December, and has every right to improve in Monday’s race.

The handicap is the seventh of eight races on a program that begins at 9 p.m. Eastern, or 6 p.m. Pacific, on Sunday. Wagering and viewing is available through DRFBets.com.