Australia: Shibli should benefit from extra distance in Canterbury feature

Shibli, a maiden race winner in France in 2020, will have his second start in Australia in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs at Canterbury Park in Sydney on Wednesday after a promising debut in that country earlier this month.

Trained by Chris Waller, Shibli finished fifth in a six-furlong handicap at Canterbury on April 7, closing from seventh in a field of 10 to miss by about three-quarters of a length.

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In France in early 2020, Shibli was fifth in his debut in a maiden race at 1 1/4 miles on the synthetic track at Cagnes-sur-Mer and returned to win a turf race for maidens at about 1 5/16 miles there a month later. The gelding’s success at the longer distance and late rally at Canterbury on April 7 suggest Wednesday’s distance will be a good fit.

Shibli, who was gelded before he was transferred to Australia, is part of a field of 10 in the sixth of eight races at Canterbury. First post time is 10:35 p.m., Eastern, or 7:35 p.m., Pacific, on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Shibli will be ridden by James McDonald, who was aboard for the April 7 race.

Shibli’s main rivals are Blesk, who was the 3-1 favorite as of Monday, and Monserrat and Tectonicus, who were 5-1. Shibli was 6-1 in early betting.

Blesk, a winner of 3 of 11 starts, ended a five-race losing streak with a win as the even-money favorite in a one-mile handicap at Warwick Farm Racecourse on March 31. Blesk tends to run from off the pace.

Tectonicus, a winner of 2 of 8 starts, won a one-mile handicap at Wyong Racecourse on April 8 for his first victory in three starts this year. Tectonicus faced only three rivals in that race and led throughout.

Tectonicus is likely to race as a stalker in this race, in pursuit of expected leader Monserrat, who has not raced since December.

Monserrat, a winner of 3 of 14 starts, ended 2020 with two wins and two seconds in four starts in November and December, winning at a mile and 1 1/8 miles. A gelding, Monserrat finished first in two recent schooling races from the gate, or barrier trials, in preparation for his comeback.