Australia: Waller sends out capable trio in handicap at Royal Randwick

Among the 3-year-old Finepoint, the 4-year-old Niffler and the longshot Black Queen, Australian trainer Chris Waller may turn a seven-furlong handicap at Royal Randwick in Sydney on Wednesday into an intra-stable affair.

The handicap will be run on the infield Kensington course for fillies and mares and drew a field of 11. Waller trains three of them, with Niffler (2-1) and Finepoint (7-2) as the first two choices in early betting on Monday. Black Queen was rated as a 16-1 chance.

Finepoint has won 2 of 4 starts, but has not raced since a win in handicap for fillies and mares at 7 1/2 furlongs at Canterbury Park in December, her debut against winners. The presence of big-race rider Hugh Bowman will ensure that Finepoint draws attention.

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The same can be noted regarding Niffler, who will be ridden by James McDonald, the leading rider at Sydney-area tracks. Through Monday, Bowman ranks fourth.

Niffler has won 3 of 6 starts, with the wins coming in her first three starts from April 2021 to last December. Niffler finished second twice and third once in a three-week period from Dec. 26 to Jan. 15 before being rested in recent months.

Niffler makes her comeback on the Kensington course and is likely to be a danger as a stalker.

Black Queen is also returning from a layoff. A winner 3 of 12 starts, Black Queen is not as well suited to the distance as her stablemates. Black Queen’s wins have ranged in distances from 1 1/4 miles to 1 1/2 miles.

This is Black Queen’s first start in a sprint since a third in a maiden race at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens last October.

Of the non-Waller trained runners, Ita and Sensationalism hold appeal.

Ita is winless in eight starts, the most recent of which was a second by three-quarters of a length in the Orange Cup at 1 5/16 miles at Orange Racecourse on April 8. Ita has won 4 of 18 starts with all the wins at distances ranging from seven furlongs to a mile. She figures to take a handy position for jockey Tyler Schiller.

Sensationalism is capable of setting the pace. She won a handicap at Doomben Racecourse at 6 ¾ furlongs on April 4 for her third win, and was fifth of nine in a seven-furlong handicap for fillies and mares at Randwick on April 23.

There is an eight-race program on the Kensington course beginning at 10:15 p.m. Eastern or 7:15 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.