Songline is not a consistent mare, but at her best she is capable of winning top-level races.
Songline was 10th in the Group 3 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia in February, her first start of the year. Her second start was a win in Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan.
The win gave Songline a fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.
Beginning in November, October Revolution had a rough start to his career in Australia, losing his first nine starts through March.
April was much kinder, with consecutive wins that have boosted the gelding’s career, leading to a potential third straight victory in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Port Macquarie Racecourse on the Australian east coast on Monday evening.
Burling, the Southern Hemisphere 2-year-old, won his debut with a bold rally from off the pace at Tamworth Racecourse in Australia on April 23. His second start can best be described as unconventional.
Burling is the lone 2-year-old starting against older horses in a six-furlong handicap at Tamworth on Sunday evening. The timing of the race is similar to a North American-bred juvenile racing against older horses in mid-November.
Course condition played a major role in the 2000 and 1000 Guineas last weekend in England and is likely to do so again Sunday in France. The Longchamp course was rated heavy on Friday and with rain forecast to continue through the weekend in Paris, that is not likely to change much ahead of the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the 2000 Guineas, and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, the 1000 Guineas.
Testing ground should not be an issue for the most accomplished horse in either race, the filly Blue Rose Cen, who seems sure to be favored in the 1000 Guineas.
Sodashi and Stars on Earth, the champion 3-year-old fillies of Japan the last two years, will meet for the first time in Sunday’s Grade 1 Victoria Mile for older fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse, a race with potential Breeders’ Cup implications.
The winner of the $1.86 million Victoria Mile will receive a fees-paid berth to the $2 million BC Filly and Mare Turf at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.
The prolific gelding Osman was part of a hectic pace from an inside post in the Gooree Cup at seven furlongs at Mudgee Racecourse in Australia on May 7, fading rapidly through the final furlong to finish 11th of 12 at odds of 4-5.
The loss was Osman’s third start in three weeks and ended a two-race winning streak of races run eight days apart in April.
Osman will not be idle in trainer Mack Griffith’s stable for long. Osman starts as the likely favorite at around 2-1 in the Parkes Cup at a mile at tiny Parkes Racecourse, west of Sydney on Saturday evening.
Giga Kick’s career changed when the Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old won the world’s richest sprint, the $9.3 million Everest Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia last October.
Giga Kick was 20-1 in the Everest and has since been the subject of consistently high expectations, often failing to duplicate the achievement.
The 2022 season did not go very well in Australia for Wild Planet.
A five-time stakes winner from 2018 to 2020, Wild Planet was winless in 10 starts, often racing in group-level competition.
A fifth-place finish in his comeback last month may be deceiving. The loss may have added to the losing streak, but Wild Planet closed with some interest to lose by 3 1/2 lengths in the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse on April 15. The distance was arguably too short for his best effort.
The three-time winner Rocstar Boy can end a nine-race losing streak since June in a sprint handicap at Wyong Racecourse in Australia on Wednesday evening.
Rocstar Boy has run well despite a string of recent defeats, finishing a close second in three consecutive races from late January to early March. More recently, Rocstar Boy was fourth by two lengths against tougher competition in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on March 19, and third by 1 1/2 lengths in a handicap at Newcastle on April 29.
