Winning streaks on the line in Southern Cross Stakes at Rosehill Gardens

Three winning streaks are at risk in Friday’s Group 3 Southern Cross Stakes at six furlongs at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia.

Accredited and Disneck have won their last three starts, while Willaidow has won his last two appearances. The trio are part of a field of nine in the Southern Cross Stakes, which is part of a 10-race program that includes two Group 3 races for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds.

First post time is 8:30 p.m. Eastern or 5:30 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Accredited, a 5-year-old gelding, has been busy in the last two months, winning three sprints at distances ranging from six to seven furlongs. Trained by Joseph Pride, Accredited tends to race near the front. The $155,800 Southern Cross Stakes is his stakes debut. The three recent wins were all in minor handicaps.

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As of early Thursday, Accredited was the 2-1 favorite over 3-1 Willaidow and 5-1 Disneck.

Willaidow, who starts from the inside post in the Southern Cross, has not raced since a win in a seven-furlong handicap at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Oct. 19. A winner of 7 of 16 starts in his career, Willaidow is another pacesetter.

Disneck runs as a closer, a style that may work if a pace duel develops. A winner of 6 of 24 starts, Disneck won three times from Dec. 14 to Jan. 4 at Randwick in six-furlong handicaps.

The Canonbury Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-old colts and geldings and the Widden Stakes for 2-year-old fillies will be run at 5 1/2 furlongs and feature recent runners and first-time starters expected to dominate the betting.

Burma Star, second by a neck in a maiden race at Warwick Farm Racecourse in October, will be favored against six rivals in the Canonbury, including four first-time starters. The maiden race winner Blitzburg and the debut runner Tropic are rated as contenders. Tropic was bought for more than $275,000 as a yearling last April.

The fillies Tempted and The Playwright are the only winners in a field of nine in the Widden Stakes, which includes four first-time runners.

The Playwright, who has repeatedly shown speed, has started three times, including a fourth-place finish by three lengths in the $1.87 million Magic Millions Classic at six furlongs at Gold Coast Racecourse on Jan. 17.

Tempted won a maiden race at five furlongs at Warwick Farms on Dec. 18, closing from third. He is out of the 2016 Group 2 winner Calliope.

There will be support for the debut runner Snitzel Miss from the powerful Chris Waller stable.

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