Australia: Socrates debuts as gelding in Tuesday handicap
Socrates will race as a gelding for the first time in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury Racecourse near Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. The handicapping angle makes the 4-year-old a leading prospect to win for the second time in his eighth career start.
Trained by John O’Shea, Socrates has not raced since he finished a well-beaten fourth as the 6-5 favorite in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Hawkesbury in March.
For this race, Socrates will start in a sprint for the first time since a sixth-place finish in a seven-furlong handicap at Newcastle in February. Socrates won a maiden race at a mile at Kembla Grange last September in his third start.
Socrates will be ridden for the first time by Hugh Bowman, who is likely to ride a patient race from the outside post in a field of 11.
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Armatree, also a closer, is likely to go favored in his fifth start in a little more than a year. Armatree finished fourth by 3 1/4 lengths in a handicap at 5 3/4 furlongs on the infield Kensington course at Royal Randwick on July 28 in his first start since December.
A 4-year-old gelding, Armatree has had a disrupted schedule in his four-race career. Armatree won a maiden race for southern hemisphere 2-year-olds in his second start in June 2020 and did not race again until December.
In advance of his July 28 race, Armatree had two starts in training races.
The race conditions are a very good fit for the 4-year-old mare Never Second. She won a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs in her debut at Gosford Park last October and was second and fifth in handicaps in February and March.
Trained by Matthew Vella, Never Second was a good fourth in a five-furlong handicap at Wyong Racecourse on July 20, closing from sixth to miss by 1 1/4 lengths. This will be the longest start of her career.
The seven-race program at Hawkesbury begins at 11:10 p.m. Eastern, or 8:10 p.m. Pacific, on Monday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.