Australia: Showmanship hopes to pick up where he left off in September 2020

Were it not for a fourth-place finish in a handicap at Belmont Racecourse in Perth, Australia, in 2019, Showmanship would have an unbeaten record in eight starts in advance of Wednesday’s $140,800 Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool Racecourse.

As it is, Showmanship has an active six-race winning streak that began in May 2020 and includes his stakes debut in the Bendigo Bank Stakes at six furlongs at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne in September 2020.

Showmanship has not raced since the Bendigo Bank Stakes, and will start for a new trainer in Danny O’Brien in the six-furlong Wangoom Handicap. On the basis of his win streak, Showmanship, a 6-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding, will be favored in a full field of 16 in the Wangoom.

Showmanship won following an 11-month layoff in May 2020, which will give his backers some encouragement that he can be effective in the Wangoom, a listed level race. Showmanship will be ridden for the first time by Damien Oliver, a 49-year-old Hall of Famer who won an Australian record 127th Group 1 last month.

:: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing

The Wangoom Handicap is the richest race on a 10-race program of flat and jump races at Warrnambool, the second day of the track’s three-day May festival. First post time is 9:20 p.m. Eastern or 6:20 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.

Begood Toya Mother, a Group 1 winner in 2019 but winless in his last 15 starts, is the 130-pound high weight, carrying two pounds more than Showmanship.

The well-regarded mare Chassis will carry minimum weight of 119 pounds and will be ridden by Jamie Kah, the leading rider at Melbourne-area tracks in the 2020-2021 season.

Chassis, who like Showmanship runs from off the pace, has yet to win a stakes. The Wangoom will be the mare’s fifth attempt, following a decent third in the Hareeba Stakes at six furlongs at Mornington Racecourse on March 26.