Maiden Harpo Marx has a leg up in Warwick feature

Harpo Marx has a serious chance to record his first career win in Australia in Wednesday’s Sky Racing Active Handicap at 1 1/2 miles at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney.

A 4-year-old Irish-bred horse by top stallion Galileo, Harpo Marx began his career in Ireland with trainer Aidan O’Brien. Owned at the time by the Coolmore syndicate, Harpo Marx won a maiden race in Ireland last May and was sixth in the Group 2 Queen’s Vase Stakes at 1 3/4 miles at Royal Ascot last June and seventh of eight behind the brilliant stayer Stradivarius in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup last July.

Harpo Marx was sent to Australia in the months following that race and is now trained at Warwick Farm for Bjorn Baker on behalf of a large partnership. For Baker, Harpo Marx was fourth in his debut in a handicap at 1 1/8 miles at Hawkesbury on April 4 and third in a handicap at 1 3/16 miles at Canterbury on April 22, losing the latter race by 1 1/2 lengths.

The extended distance of Wednesday’s race should suit Harpo Marx, who will be ridden by Tim Clark and will carry 128 pounds under the handicap division of Wednesday’s race. Clark retains the mount.

Harpo Marx is part of a field of 15 in the fifth race on a seven-race program at Warwick Farm that begins at 10:50 p.m. Eastern, or 7:50 p.m. Pacific, on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

The 132-pound topweight is Re Edit, a 4-year-old Southern Hemisphere mare who is winless in her last 12 starts for top trainer Chris Waller. Re Edit was third in the Group 2 P.J. O’Shea Stakes at 1 3/8 miles at Doomben last June.

Fairlight, who was last of 13 in the Group 2 Chairman’s Quality Stakes at 1 5/8 miles at Royal Randwick Racecourse on April 4, gets much-needed class relief. Fairlight, a two-time winner in England in 2018, is winless in nine starts since a handicap at Kembla Grange Racecourse in Australia in March 2019.

Wednesday’s race will be a class test for recent winners Wild Impact and Sciconic, who will carry 123 and 118 pounds. Both are starting at 1 1/2 miles for the first time on Wednesday.