Spanish Mission was third in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup at two miles at Flemington Racecourse in Australia last November, and a return appearance in that race at the end of this year is a long-term goal.
There is unlikely to be a race at that extended distance for Spanish Mission until November, but there are plenty of distance opportunities that fit the 6-year-old Kentucky-bred, notably Saturday’s Group 1 Australian Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Flemington.
Lekvarte nearly ate her way to a win at Newcastle Racecourse in Australia on Feb. 28.
Closing from last through traffic, Lekvarte was surging to the front in the final strides when she tried to bite Catapult, who beat her by a short head.
The incident happened so close to the wire it is hard to determine whether it cost Lekvarte a victory. It did land Lekvarte on the stewards’ list for trying to savage another runner.
In his debut in August, the Australian 3-year-old Invernell was highly regarded, winning a maiden race at seven furlongs at Sale Racecourse.
Invernell was beaten in his next two starts, including an 11th of 12 in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in October, but rebounded to win his fourth start in a seven-furlong handicap at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne on Feb. 9.
R1 5-9-6-7
R2 6-8-10-3
R3 9-11-7-8
R4 2-5-9-10
R5 6-2-3-4
R6 1-5-11-8
R7 5-6-2-8
R8 6-5-1-10
R9 1-10-6-5
Best Bet R3 N9 See U Again
Longshot R7 N5 E Legend
Play 7 QQP 2-5-6
Mark McNamara:
R1: 5.6.4.7
R2: 8.6.4.3
R3: 7.4.3.11
R4: 2.9.10.3
R5: 6.2.3.5
R6: 5.1.3.4
R7: 7.6.3.5
R8: 5.6.1.9
R9: 1.8.6.10
Best R5 N6 Joyful Mood
Longshot R6 N10 Melbourne Hall
Play R6 Q/QP 1.5.10
Darci Joy has found his niche racing 1,800 meters at Happy Valley. Will he find his initial foray into Class 3 handicap competition too challenging? And can anyone be found to challenge Savvy Kingman on the lead?
These questions and so much more will be answered during the last of nine races at Happy Valley on Wednesday. The 1,800-meter nightcap is one of the Class 3 handicaps for horses rated 80-60 that headline the card. First post is 5:45 a.m. Eastern and you can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.
Even after a troubled trip in the stretch, Military Mission was only 1 1/2 lengths away from a win at Royal Ascot in England last June.
Since then, Military Mission has been transferred from trainer Hugo Palmer to trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in Australia. The gelding will have his second start in the country in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs at Canterbury Park in Sydney on Thursday. The program was scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed for a day because of excessive rain.
Draft Day overcame a tardy start to win his debut at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, last September in what turned out be his lone start of 2021.
The win looks even more attractive six months later as Draft Day nears his second start in a handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs at Ballarat Racecourse on Tuesday.
Prowling and Growl, who finished third and fourth behind Draft Day in September, returned to win maiden races. Growl has won twice in his brief career.
Paul Lally:
R1 1-4-6-2
R2 5-4-2-3
R3 2-8-12-5
R4 2-7-5-8
R5 3-1-2-12
R6 8-5-7-11
R7 5-13-10-4
R8 6-9-1-12
R9 3-6-2-7
R10 7-8-4-2
Best Bet R1 N1 Will Power
Longshot R3 N2 Gold Comet
Play R9 QQP 2-3-6
Tom Wood:
R1: 4-1-5-2
R2: 5-2-1-3
R3: 8-1-12-2
R4: 2-5-8-7
R5 1-8-2-6
R6: 7-8-5-9
R7: 10-4-12-5
R8: 6-9-11-12-3
R9: 3-2-7-6
R10: 7-8-4-6-1
Last July and August, the Australian gelding Kapsali could do no better than second in the first three starts of his career. This year, he can’t lose.
Kapsali was rested for five months from mid-August to mid-January and has won his first two starts this year. He will be favored to extend the winning streak to three races in a handicap at about seven furlongs at Grafton Racecourse on Monday, the site of the 3-year-old’s two recent wins.