Weight shift favors Buster Block in Townsville Cup
The 7-year-old Australian-bred gelding Buster Block started at 1 1/4 miles for the first time when he was second in the Mackay Cup on July 31, finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind Best Hoffa.
Friday at Townsville Racecourse, Best Hoffa will be favored at about 3-1 in the Townsville Cup, against a field that will include Buster Block, who is likely to be around 12-1. A weight difference between the two runners makes Buster Block an attractive alternative to the deserving favorite in his second start at the distance.
Best Hoffa and Buster Block carried 122.3 pounds in the Mackay Cup, but Best Hoffa’s handicap rating has risen because of his recent win. An 8-year-old gelding, Buster Block will carry 125.6 pounds in the Townsville Cup, while Buster Block will carry 119 pounds.
Buster Block, a winner of 7 of 21 starts, has won 5 of 14 starts at Townsville, including consecutive handicaps at seven furlongs on June 4 and about a mile on June 20. In the Mackay Cup, Buster Block closed from fifth in a field of 14.
Best Hoffa, a winner of 9 of 51 starts, ended a four-race losing streak with a 12-1 upset at Mackay. Best Hoffa is trained at Townsville Racecourse by Alby Molino, and started at the course in his first 11 starts this year from late February to mid-July. During that span, Best Hoffa had two wins and seven second- and third-place finishes.
The 8-year-old gelding Unbiased is the 130-pound topweight in what is expected to be a full field of 16. Unbiased is winless in his last seven starts. He has finished third in his last two races, both at Townsville – beaten 1 1/4 lengths as the 1-2 favorite in a weight-for-age race at 1 1/4 miles on July 14, in which Best Hoffa was second, and by 2 1/4 lengths in a handicap at seven furlongs on Aug. 4.
First post time on the 10-race program at Townsville is 9:34 p.m., Eastern, or 6:34 p.m., Pacific, on Thursday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
Townsville Racecourse is located in the northeast of the country on the Coral Sea.