Australia: The Ritz looks to solidify The Big Dance berth in Murwillumbah Cup

The Ritz is on schedule to start in a fancy, and lucrative, race later this year if he can continue his success from recent weeks in the Murwillumbah Cup at Murwillumbah Racecourse in Australia across American time zones on Thursday evening.

The Ritz is a provisional qualifier for the newly created The Big Dance Stakes at a mile at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Nov. 1. The Big Dance has a purse of $1.38 million and is restricted to horses that finish first or second in 26 qualifying races from last October to Oct. 9 this year at tracks in the state of New South Wales.

The Ritz, a 5-year-old gelding, was second in the Coffs Harbour Cup on Aug. 4, which was part of the qualifying series. The Murwillumbah Cup also is a qualifying race.

The field for The Big Dance will be limited to 20 starters. With as many as 52 horses gaining eligibility through qualifying races, the final field will be determined by winners of qualifying races. The second tiebreaker will be official handicap ratings.

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While the second at Coffs Harbour may be good enough for The Ritz to gain a spot in The Big Dance, a win at Murwillumbah would almost guarantee a position in the field. The gelding caught the eye when he closed from sixth in a field of 13 to lose the Coffs Harbour Cup by a little more than a half-length.

The Murwillumbah Cup will have a full field of 12. The Ritz, trained by Michael Morrison, was the 7-2 favorite as of Wednesday, but expected to face a fierce test from runners such as Get The Idea and Morethannumberone.

Get The Idea and Morethannumberone have been racing at tracks in the state of Queensland in recent months. This is their first appearances in a qualifier for The Big Dance.

Get The Idea, a winner of 6 of 23 starts, was second by 1 1/4 lengths in a one-mile handicap at Doomben Racecourse on Aug. 6 and won a handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs there July 13. Get The Idea tends to run from off the pace.

Morethannumberone, a winner of 5 of 26 starts, has a similar style, which led to a win in a seven-furlong handicap at Sunshine Coast on June 12. In his most recent start, Morethannumberone was third in a one-mile handicap at Eagle Farm Racecourse on July 16, losing by slightly more than 1 1/2 lengths.

The Murwillumbah Cup is part of an eight-race program that begins at 10:45 p.m. Eastern, or 7:45 p.m. Pacific, on Thursday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.