Australia: Longer distance favors Handsome at Warwick Farm

Handsome ran out of ground when he closed from last in a field of 10 to finish fifth in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Australia on Jan. 28.

That may not be a problem when Handsome starts in a handicap at 1 3/8 miles at Warwick Farm on Tuesday evening. Handsome will race at the longer distance for the first time and takes a slight drop in class from the recent race at Rosehill Gardens.

Those factors along with the first-time presence of jockey James McDonald will make Handsome the favorite in a field of 12. McDonald leads Australian riders in earnings for the season, which began on Aug. 1.

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A 5-year-old Irish-bred gelding, Handsome won as recently as Jan. 3 in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Taree Racecourse, closing from seventh in a field of 10. Handsome pulled away to win by a convincing 7 1/4 lengths as the 3-10 favorite.

At Warwick Farm, Handsome’s main rival is Mikasa, a 4-year-old filly who was second in a handicap at 1 1/2 miles at Kembla Grange on Jan. 14. Mikasa raced from a stalking position in that race and was beaten a head as the 2-1 favorite. Mikasa has won twice, at 1 3/16 miles and 1 1/2 miles.

The lightly raced gelding Fudai is on a two-race winning streak, but will face a class test. Fudai won a maiden race at Canterbury Park at 1 3/16 miles on Jan. 1 and a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Kembla Grange on Jan. 21.

Similar to Handsome, Fudai tends to run from off the pace. This will be Fudai’s first start at 1 3/8 miles.

Warwick Farm has a seven-race program beginning at 10:20 p.m. Eastern or 7:20 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.