Australia: Numerian favored to end losing streak in Ipswich Cup

Wins have been scarce for the Irish-bred gelding Numerian since a victory in the Group 2 Q22 Stakes in Australia in June 2022.

Numerian is winless in his last nine starts, including a narrow loss by slightly less than a half-length in the Group 1 Doomben Cup on May 20. More recently, Numerian was fifth in the Q22 Stakes on June 10.

Those losses against tough company have left the 7-year-old favored to end his losing streak in the $137,480 Ipswich Cup at about 1 5/16 miles at Ipswich Racecourse near Brisbane on Friday evening.

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In early betting on Thursday, Numerian was the 2-1 favorite.

Trained by Annabel Neasham, Numerian was 19th in the famous Melbourne Cup last November. Aside from the loss in the Doomben Cup last month, Numerian has been close in other leading races. He was beaten three-quarters of a length when second in the Group 1 Australian Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on March 25.

The Ipswich Cup drew a field of 15 and is part of a nine-race program that begins at 9:43 p.m. Eastern or 6:43 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Numerian will carry top weight of 134.4 pounds, a hefty assignment compared to other contenders, such as Desert Icon at 125.6 pounds or Berdibek at 122.3 pounds. Desert Icon and Berdibek were bred in France.

Desert Icon is winless in his last seven starts, and was second by a head in the Winter Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on June 3. Desert Icon tends to run near the pace, a style that led to consecutive wins at about 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne last September.

Berdibek was third in the Lord Mayor’s Cup at 1 1/8 miles at Eagle Farm on May 27, his first win in Australia. The Lord Mayor’s Cup has turned out to be a productive race. Berdibek was beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Without a Fight, who returned to win the Q22 Stakes earlier this month.

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