Australia: Phaistos favored for first stakes win in Sale Cup

Phaistos, the 5-year-old Australian-bred gelding, ran as well as could be expected in the Weekend Hussler Handicap at Caulfield Racecourse on Oct. 10 in Melbourne, finishing three-quarters of a length behind heavily favored Windstorm in a field of eight.

Phaistos will start favored in Sunday’s $142,000 Sale Cup at a mile at Sale Racecourse. Windstorm is not part of the field, having finished fifth in the Group 3 Moonga Stakes on Oct. 17 at Caulfield.

Phaistos, trained by James Cummings for Godolphin Racing, has won 6 of 18 starts but has yet to win a stakes. He was second by about a neck in the listed Scone Cup in May and followed with an eighth-place finish in a handicap at Royal Randwick in June before being rested through the Australian winter. The Weekend Hussler Stakes at seven furlongs was his first start after the layoff.

Mark Zahra will ride Phaistos, a booking certain to attract attention. Zahra won four races on Oct. 17 at Caulfield, including the Group 1 Caulfield Cup on the popular mare Verry Elleegant.

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In the Sale Cup, Phaistos will carry 130 pounds, slightly less than topweight Riddle Me That at 133 pounds. Riddle Me That won the seven-furlong Paris Lane Stakes at Flemington Racecourse on Oct. 3 in Melbourne, his fifth win in 13 starts and second stakes win of 2020.

Both Phaistos and Riddle Me That tend to run from off the pace. The Sale Cup does not have a devoted front-runner although the three-time winner Kipketer tends to run near the front.

The Sale Cup is the second start in Australia for Kenya, an Irish-bred who was a Group 3 stakes winner in Ireland for trainer Aidan O’Brien in 2017. Kenya was 10th of 13 in a handicap on June 6 at Flemington Racecourse in his first start in Australia and first outing in 21 months. Now trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, Kenya was beaten about 3 1/2 lengths in that race.

Sale Racecourse, which is a two-hour drive from Melbourne, has a nine-race program beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern, or 6:30 p.m. Pacific, on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.