Cup races at smaller venues throughout Australia are often wide-open and draw large fields.
Much of that applies to the Port Macquarie Cup, which will be run at Port Macquarie Racecourse on Thursday evening across American time zones.
The Port Macquarie Cup is worth $129,600, the track’s richest race, and drew a field of 13. But the presence of the 5-year-old German-bred gelding Quality Time gives the Port Macquairie Cup an odds-on favorite.
Four races into his career, Notabadsuspect has one win in Australia and seems to be improving as the distances increase.
The winner of a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs on Sept. 2, Notabadsuspect finished fourth by slightly less than a length in his debut against winners in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury on Sept. 22.
Paul Lally:
R1 5-1-7-4
R2 1-2-3-4
R3 2-9-6-4
R4 2-6-12-9
R5 9-1-11-12
R6 1-2-7-6
R7 1-5-9-4
R8 1-10-2-3
R9 11-8-6-4
Best Bet R1 N5 Heroic Master
Longshot R8 N1 Above All
Play R6 QQP 1-2-7
Nick Child:
R1 | 1-5-4-7
R2 | 1-3-2-4
R3 | 8-5-4-2
R4 | 9-7-5-2
R5 | 11-12-1-9
R6 | 8-2-7-3
R7 | 9-5-1-4
R8 | 2-4-5-7
R9 | 8-6-11-4
BEST BET | R7 N9 HZ TOURBILLON
LONGSHOT BET | R9 N8 HARDLY SWEARS
The third race at Canterbury Park in Australia on Tuesday evening across American time zones is a handicap for fillies and mares at slightly less than a mile.
That’s close enough to Always on Show’s optimum distance for the 5-year-old mare to be at her best against eight rivals. Always on Show has won 3 of 23 starts with the wins at a mile and at a distance slightly longer than a mile.
A measure of class relief in late September nearly put the Australian gelding Brazen Impact in the winner’s circle for the first time since January.
A 4-year-old gelding, Brazen Impact closed from last of nine to finish second by a nose in a five-furlong handicap at Goulburn on Sept. 23 as a 13-1 outsider.
The narrow loss has led Brazen Impact back to Goulburn for a five-furlong handicap on Monday evening across American time zones. Brazen Impact was the 5-2 second choice in early betting on Sunday.
The 7-year-old Kentucky-bred Gendarme won his first Grade 1 race in a 28-1 upset in Sunday’s $2.2 million Sprinters Stakes at Nayakama Racecourse in Japan for his sixth stakes win in a career that began in 2017.
Gendarme closed from third in a field of 16 under jockey Kiwamu Ogino to lead in the stretch and hold off a late threat from 25-1 Win Marvel. Gendarme ($59.30 in American pools) won by a neck over Win Marvel, who finished three-quarters of a length in front of 23-1 Naran Huleg.
Alpinista, under a textbook ride from jockey Luke Morris, became the first 5-year-old mare in 65 years to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe when she saw off 3-year-old Vadeni to win the Arc by a half-length.
Winning her sixth straight Group 1, Alpinista came through as the favorite in the Arc, which was run over very soft ground under testing conditions Sunday at rainy Longchamp.
The 4-year-old filly Left Reeling has been held in high regard in Australia since her career began in early April 2021.
Though winless in six starts in 2021, Left Reeling was favored in five of those races. This year, she has been favored in all three of her starts, and is starting to pay back bettors.
A winner of her last two starts, Left Reeling will be favored again when she starts in the longest race of her career in a handicap at 1 3/8 miles at Warwick Farm in Sydney on Sunday evening across American time zones.