Australia: Pippali gets chance to qualify for rich series finale

The Australian filly Pippali was a nose away from earning a berth for the $360,200 Provincial Championship Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on April 9 when she finished third in a qualifying race at Newcastle on March 17.

The first two finishers from that race earned berths.

Pippali has one more chance to earn a spot in the final when she starts in a full field of 16 in the final qualifying race at Newcastle on Thursday. The first two finishers advance to the race at Randwick on a program of lucrative stakes.

Pippali has won 2 of 13 starts. The third-place finish on March 17 was her first start since mid-November for trainer Jason Coyle. Pippali closed from last to be nearest the front at the finish.

In Thursday’s race, Pippali drew an outside post, which will lead jockey William Pike to place the filly at the back of the field. With a large field, a good pace is likely, but traffic problems could be an issue.

As of Tuesday, the race lacked a standout, with Pippali and Confessed the early co-favorites at 5-1. Contributingfactor was 6-1.

Newcastle has an eight-race program beginning at 10:15 p.m. Eastern or 7:15 p.m. Pacific on Wednesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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Confessed, also a 4-year-old filly, won a seven-furlong handicap at Eagle Farm Racecourse on March 12 to end a three-race losing streak. A winner of 4 of 14 starts, Confessed is also a closer. She will draw support because of the presence of big-race rider Hugh Bowman.

Contributingfactor is a 3-year-old in a similar situation as Pippali, having finished fourth in the qualifier at Newcastle on March 17. He finished a head behind the second-place finisher as a 30-1 outsider.

The Provincial Championship Stakes final is restricted to horses from small- to medium-sized stables based in the state of New South Wales. Australia’s leading stables, as judged by wins or success in group-level stakes, are excluded from the series.