Australia: White Hawk in career form for Hobart Cup
None of the 12 runners in Sunday’s Grade 3 Hobart Cup at Hobart Racecourse in Australia have been in sharp in the last few months as the outsider White Hawk.
On the turf course at Hobart and the synthetic track at nearby Devenport, White Hawk has won three of his last four starts, including an 11-1 upset in the Tasmanian Summer Cup at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Hobart on Jan. 22.
The $178,575 Hobart Cup is run at 1 1/2 miles, which could pose a challenge for White Hawk, a winner of 14 of 65 starts. White Hawk is winless in six starts at the distance, including an 11th in the 2021 Hobart Cup. But White Hawk has never had a period of consistency similar to his results since early December, leaving him as an outsider to respect in the Hobart Cup.
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The race is the ninth on a 10-race program that begins at 8 p.m. Eastern or 5 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
The field consists of nine runners who had their last start on the island of Tasmania and three who last raced on the Australian mainland.
The three shippers will dominate the betting.
Ho Ho Khan, the 130-pound topweight, and In a Twinkling, who is second in the handicap at 125.6 pounds, were both 5-2 in early betting on Friday, compared to 6-1 for the shipper Lord Belvidere and White Hawk at 7-1.
Lord Belvidere, who will carry 124.5 pounds, is winless in nine starts since a handicap at 1 9/16 miles at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne in September 2020.
White Hawk, who races from off the pace, will carry 123 pounds.
Ho Ho Khan will have his Hobart debut on the strength of a win in a lucrative handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne on Jan. 22, a victory that ended a 17-race losing streak since a Group 3 at Sha Tin in Hong Kong in 2019.
In a Twinkling is a threat as a stalker. He was second in a handicap at 1 9/16 miles at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne on Jan. 22, losing by a nose after racing in third. In a Twinkling will start at Hobart for the first time in the Hobart Cup in an attempt to end an 11-race losing streak, since a Group 3 win at 1 5/16 miles in New Zealand in November 2020.