Australia: Newmarket Handicap bettors have not lost faith in Palladas
A bad start and a wide trip led to an 11th-place finish in a field of 16 for Palladas as the 5-1 favorite in the Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich Racecourse in Australia on June 18.
The loss has led to a jockey change for Friday’s Newmarket Handicap at Rockhampton Racecourse and apparently a fair measure of forgiveness from future-book bettors. As of Wednesday, Palladas was the 3-1 favorite in a field of 13 for the Newmarket Handicap, run at 6 3/4 furlongs.
For the first time, Palladas will be ridden by William Pike, a former leading rider in the state of Western Australia who relocated to Sydney earlier this year. Pike has been in high demand in recent weeks, winning with 9 of 50 mounts from June 16 through Saturday. Pike’s next mounts are at Rockhampton, which is located well north of Brisbane on the Australian northeast coast.
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Palladas, trained by Tony Gollan, has won 3 of 23 starts, but is winless in his last four races, since winning a seven-furlong handicap at Sunshine Coast Racecourse in February. Prior to the loss in the Eye Liner at 6 3/4 furlongs, Palladas was a game second in a seven-furlong handicap at Eagle Farm on June 4.
Pike has five mounts for Gollan through the Rockhampton program.
Four other runners from the Eye Liner are part of the Newmarket Handicap, including Desert Lord and Sir Warwick, who were second and third. Desert Lord was beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Holyfield after closing from ninth.
For the Newmarket Handicap, Desert Lord will carry top weight of 133 pounds, much more than Sir Warwick at 122.3 or Palladas at the minimum weight of 119.
Desert Lord, a winner of 8 of 31 starts, was a listed stakes winner last August at six furlongs and was a close third in a race at that level at Sunshine Coast in January.
Sir Warwick, who tends to run near the pace, is well suited to the Newmarket distance. On May 7, Sir Warwick won a minor handicap at Rockhampton at 6 1/2 furlongs, racing near the front throughout.
As of Wednesday, Palladas was a slight choice over Desert Lord at 7-2 and Sir Warwick at an interesting 9-2.
Rockhampton has an eight-race program beginning at 10:22 p.m. Eastern or 7:22 p.m. Pacific on Thursday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.