Australia; Osman looks to bounce back

The prolific gelding Osman was part of a hectic pace from an inside post in the Gooree Cup at seven furlongs at Mudgee Racecourse in Australia on May 7, fading rapidly through the final furlong to finish 11th of 12 at odds of 4-5.

The loss was Osman’s third start in three weeks and ended a two-race winning streak of races run eight days apart in April.

Osman will not be idle in trainer Mack Griffith’s stable for long. Osman starts as the likely favorite at around 2-1 in the Parkes Cup at a mile at tiny Parkes Racecourse, west of Sydney on Saturday evening.

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This time, Osman has drawn post 11 in a field of 12, which should give new jockey Kody Nestor options of whether to take a forward position or stalk the pace. A winner of 5 of 14 starts, Osman will race for the fifth time since the beginning of April at Parkes, the most active recent schedule of the runners in the field.

By comparison, Athena’s Lad, rated as the third choice at 4-1 in early betting on Friday, will start for the first time since a second in a one-mile handicap at Dubbo Racecourse last June.

A winner of 5 of 15 starts, the 6-year-old Athena’s Lad has won at distances ranging from 6 ½ furlongs to 1 1/8 miles and seems best when stalking the pace.

The Parkes Cup is the first start in more than seven weeks for the well-regarded Kiptanui, a winner of 5 of 32 starts.

Kiptanui won a seven-furlong handicap against a lower-class of handicap runners at Hawkesbury Racecourse in February, but was beaten in two starts against tougher rivals at tracks in Melbourne and Sydney in March.

Kiptanui drew post 10 in the Parkes Cup and will be closing from off the pace.

Parkes has an eight-race program beginning at 10:05 p.m. Eastern or 7:05 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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