The Regiment on upswing for Stawell Gold Cup

At the beginning of the year, the durable Australian-bred The Regiment would not have been considered for a race such as Sunday’s Stawell Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles.

The Regiment ended a busy 2020 campaign with a win in a minor handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Geelong Racecourse near Melbourne, but had been racing in lower-class campaign through a season that included two wins in 17 races.

The current season has been a different matter. The Regiment, a 6-year-old gelding, has won three of five starts against better competition. He was third in the Yarra Valley Cup at about 1 1/4 miles on March 13 at 13-1, but lost little in defeat by finishing about a length behind Hang Man.

The Stawell Gold Cup will be The Regiment’s 57th start, all for trainer John Maloney since August 2017. The Regiment will be ridden for the first time on Sunday by Declan Bates, who won with a respectable 8 of 50 mounts from Feb. 24 through Thursday.

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The Regiment, a danger as a stalker, will carry 119 pounds, far less than topweight Mahamedeis, at 140 pounds. Mahamedeis, who is expected to go favored, was second in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes in 2019, and later ran without success in Group 1 races that year.

In the last year, Mahamedeis has won three handicaps at 1 1/4 miles to 1 1/2 miles, but is winless in his last six starts, including four group stakes. This is the highest weight assignment for the 6-year-old Mahamedeis in his 44th start.

The Stawell Gold Cup drew a field of 10. The Stawell program begins at 11:05 p.m. Eastern, or 8:05 p.m. Pacific, on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com

The distance is a good fit for Wentwood and Barry the Baptist.

Wentwood won handicaps at 1 1/4 miles and 1 5/8 miles in December, but a well-beaten sixth in a handicap at 1 3/4 miles at Flemington Racecourse on Jan. 1.

Barry the Baptist won the 2019 Stawell Cup and is trained at the track by Paul Jones. Barry the Baptist is winless in his last 14 starts, but was a decent third in a handicap at a mile at Colac Racecourse on March 13, closing some ground to miss by 1 3/4 lengths.