Australia: Two go from longshots to favorites in Goulburn Cup
As longshots, Cotehele and Riodini were not beaten far in races at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Australia on Oct. 15.
The respectable losses have put them among the leading hopes in the $128,100 Goulburn Cup at seven furlongs at Goulburn Racecourse on Saturday.
Cotehele was sixth by slightly more than three lengths at 25-1 in the $620,000 Silver Eagle Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs for 4-year-olds on Oct. 15.
:: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing
A winner of 3 of 12 starts, Cotehele raced for the first time in the Silver Eagle since a win in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Randwick in May. Cotehele, who races as a stalker, has won all three of his races at 6 1/2 furlongs.
Riodini, a winner of 4 of 22 starts, was 12th of 18 at 40-1 in the Group 3 Sydney Stakes, a $1.24 million race at six furlongs on the same day as the Silver Eagle Stakes.
Riodino closed from 15th to miss by 2 1/2 lengths in his first start since a 13th in the Golden Mile Stakes at Bendigo Racecourse in April.
While Riodini won his first four starts in 2019, he is winless in his last 18 appearances. He was second by three-quarters of a length to 2020-2021 Australian Horse of the Year Verry Elleegant in the Group 1 George Main Stakes at a mile in September 2021.
The Goulburn Cup drew a full field of 16. Cotehele and Riodini were 5-1 in early betting on Friday along with Oscar Zulu, who was second in the Rowley Mile Stakes at Hawkesbury on Aug. 18 in his latest start.
Any of those runners could be favored by post time, but it does not appear likely there will be much difference in the odds.
The Goulburn Cup is the seventh race on an eight-race program that begins at 10:25 p.m. Eastern or 7:25 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.