Australia: Strong trio set for rematch in Wyong Cup

There was little between Hosier and Kalapour when they finished first and third in the Group 3 Premier’s Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 23.

Hosier won by 1 1/4 lengths, with Bois d’Argent carrying five more pounds.

There will be little difference in the weights between them when the start in a field of 16 in the $155,300 Wyong Gold Cup at 1 5/16 miles at Wyong Racecourse on Thursday evening.

Bois d’Argent will carry 127.8 pounds, while Hosier has been assigned 126.7. They are two leading contenders in the big field along with Kalapour, who was third in the Premier’s Prelude Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Randwick on Aug. 5. Kalapour will carry 125.6 pounds. Polly Grey, a longshot, has topweight of 130 pounds.

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Hosier, a slight favorite at 4-1 on Wednesday, Bois d’Argent (6-1), and Kalapour (9-2) have similar closing styles. They are suited by the Wyong Cup distance. Kalapour won the Group 3 Chairman’s Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Eagle Farm in May with a late move.

Hosier, a 7-year-old Irish-bred, has won 7 of 18 starts, and ended a five-race losing streak in the Premier’s Cup, his first win for trainer Mark Minervini, who began training the gelding earlier this year.

Hosier started twice in Ireland in 2020 before being he was sent to Australia. Hosier won five of his first six starts in 2021 and early 2022.

Wyong has an eight-race program beginning at 10:45 p.m. Eastern or 7:45 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

In the race preceding the Wyong Gold Cup, Olentia will be an odds-on favorite to win the $129,400 Mona Lisa Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 3/4 furlongs. A winner of 5 of 6 starts, Olentia won her group stakes debut in the Group 3 James Carr Stakes at seven furlongs for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old fillies at Randwick in April.

In her only subsequent start, Olentia won a lucrative handicap at six furlongs against males at Rosehill Gardens on Aug. 12, closing from last in a field of eight to win by more than two lengths.

Olentia did not scare away many rivals. She is part of a field of 15 in the Mona Lisa Stakes that includes Va Via, the winner of three consecutive handicaps since late June.

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