Australia: Unbeaten Norwegian Bliss returns in Hawkesbury handicap

Norwegian Bliss needed seven weeks to compile a perfect record in four starts in Australia from late September to mid-November last year.

Favored in each race, Norwegian Bliss won at distances ranging from 5 1/2 to seven furlongs and as a pacesetter and stalker. Wednesday, Norwegian Bliss has her 2022 debut, and once again will be favored, in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs for Southern Hemisphere 3- and 4-year-olds at Hawkesbury Racecourse.

A 4-year-old New Zealand-bred, Norwegian Bliss will make her debut at Hawkesbury and will be ridden for the first time by the prominent rider James McDonald, who has ridden four group stakes winner already this month.

With her growing reputation, Norwegian Bliss will carry top weight of 132 pounds in a field of 12. Trained by Nathan Doyle, Norwegian Bliss starts from post 4, which will give McDonald strategic options in a large field.

Norwegian Bliss starts as part of the third race on an eight-race program that begins at 10:50 p.m. Eastern, or 7:50 p.m. Pacific, on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Norwegian Bliss, who is by the Fastnet Rock stallion El Roca, was 8-5 in early betting Monday in a race that lacks a clear second choice. There will be support for Kir Royale, Sacrimony, and Six Again, all beaten in their last starts.

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Kir Royale has won 2 of 4 starts, but has not raced since a third-place finish in a lucrative handicap at Rosehilll Gardens on Jan. 15. Kir Royale and Sacrimony are trained by Chris Waller, and both tend to race as stalkers.

Sacrimony, a gelding, has not raced since a fifth-place finish in mid-December, but was beaten a nose in a six-furlong handicap at Rosehill Gardens earlier that month.

Six Again was a two-time winner last September and October, but only fifth in her first start of 2022 in a five-furlong handicap at Warwick Farm Racecourse on March 23. Six Again has drawn the outside post, which may not be an issue considering her closing style.