Australia: The Poacher ready for top effort at just the right time
The Poacher is winless in two starts in Australia this year, but has shown signs in those losses of the form that made him a four-time winner in 2022.
If The Poacher continues to improve, the timing could not be better.
A winner of 4 of 9 starts, The Poacher will start as a slight favorite in a $66,900 handicap at seven furlongs at Newcastle Racecourse on Wednesday evening that is the final qualifying race for a restricted race worth $344,900 at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on April 8.
The first three finishers in the Newcastle race earn berths to the Randwick race, which is restricted to runners for small and mid-sized stables based in the state of New South Wales. Some of the nation’s leading trainers are not permitted to start horses if they have had widespread success in leading stakes in the preceding year.
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The Poacher, who is trained by Brad Widdup, finished seventh in his first start of 2023 in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on Feb. 18, but was fourth of 16 in a qualifying race for the Randwick final at Gosford Racecourse on March 16. Only the first two finishers of the March 16 race earned berths for the Randwick final. The Poacher was beaten slightly more than two lengths for second.
At Newcastle, The Poacher is part of a field of 15, all with experience in recent qualifying races for the Randwick final. The Poacher was the 7-2 favorite as of Tuesday morning, a slight choice over 4-1 Loch Eagle, who finished sixth by 3 1/2 lengths in the Gosford qualifier in his first start since December.
Loch Eagle, a winner of 3 of 15 starts for trainer Kris Lees, has a closing style similar to The Poacher.
Newcastle has an eight-race program beginning at 10:10 p.m. Eastern or 7:10 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
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