Australia: Osipenko gets class relief but draws outside in Gong Stakes

After losses in four consecutive Group 1 races in Australia from mid-August to early October, Osipenko has been entered in the $650,500 Gong Stakes, a handicap at a mile at Kembla Grange Racecourse on Friday evening.

The class relief will help Osipenko, provided he is not burdened by traffic issues in a field of 16. Osipenko will need a favorable trip from post 10 to win for the fourth time in his 14th start.

Osipenko, who will be ridden by high-profile jockey James McDonald, won the Group 3 Packer Plate at 1 1/4 miles at Royal Randwick in Sydney in April, his most recent win.

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During the streak of losses in Group 1 races, Osipenko’s best result was a third behind the outstanding miler Mr Brightside in the Makybe Diva Stakes at a mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne in mid-September, losing by slightly less than two lengths.

A repeat of that race would be good enough to win the Gong Stakes.

The Gong Stakes is part of a 10-race program at Kembla Grange that begins at 8:20 p.m. Eastern or 5:20 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Osipenko is one of five runners in the field trained by Chris Waller, who also starts the well-regarded Waterford, who was fifth by 2 1/4 lengths in the $1.27 million Five Diamonds Stakes at 1 1/8 miles for Southern Hemisphere 5-year-olds at Rosehill Gardens on Nov. 11.

Waterford has been second or third in three group stakes since mid-March.

Detonator Jack, third in the Five Diamonds, and Cepheus, second in the $1.8 million Big Dance Stakes at a mile at Randwick on Nov. 7, are two other prominent runners in the Gong Stakes.

Cepheus was beaten slightly less than 1 1/4 lengths in the 20-runner Big Dance Stakes, which brought together runners who qualified in trial races through the preceding year at smaller venues in the state of New South Wales.

In the Gong Stakes, Cepheus will carry topweight of 134.4 pounds, much more than Osipenko (129), Detonator Jack (123), and Waterford (120).

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