Three starts into his career, the Australian colt Rejoiced has performed better in sprints than at a mile.
Rejoiced won his first two starts in November and early December in sprints, but was last of seven in a one-mile handicap at Gosford Park on Dec. 29, setting the pace before fading to lose by 2 1/4 lengths.
A return to a sprint in a handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs at Wyong Racecourse on Tuesday looks to be a better placing for the relatively unexposed colt.
Miss Powerbelle has compiled a three-race winning streak during the last 50 weeks in Australia that has an excellent chance to continue when she starts for a new stable in a five-furlong handicap at Muswellbrook Racecourse on Monday.
Miss Powerbelle does not race too often. The current streak began with a win in a handicap at 4 1/2 furlongs last January and continued in a handicap at 4 3/4 furlongs in March. Miss Powerbelle’s only subsequent start was a half-length win in a five-furlong handicap at Tamworth Racecourse on Oct. 11 at odds of 1-2.
Paul Lally:
R1 3-7-6-11
R2 8-11-1-7
R3 8-4-1-6
R4 10-8-2-7
R5 11-4-1-3
R6 11-4-6-10
R7 2-8-6-7
R8 3-9-1-4
R9 4-3-1-2
R10 4-2-7-9
Best Bet R5 N11 Joyful Genius
Longshot R6 N11 Ring Bells
Play R5 QQP 1-4-11
Tom Wood:
R1: 2-7-6-3
R2: 7-1-8-4
R3: 2-8-4-1
R4: 2-5-10-7
R5: 2-4-11-9
R6: 10-4-6-9
R7: 6-2-7-3
R8: 9-3-4-10
R9: 4-2-3-7
R10:4-2-7-9
A pair of 4-year-olds foaled more than 11,000 miles apart top the featured ninth race Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.
California Spangle, a son of Starspangledbanner, was born in Ireland, though he never raced there, while Fantastic Way, another horse who only has started in Hong Kong, came into the world at a farm in New Zealand. Both geldings already have won prolifically and figure to attract significant wagering attention in this Class 2 handicap over 1,200 meters for horses rated 100-80.
Loves Only You, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar in November, was named Japan’s champion older filly and mare in awards announced earlier this week by the Japan Racing Association.
Loves Only You became the first Japanese-based runner to win a Breeders’ Cup race last year. Now retired, Loves Only You also won two Group 1 races in Hong Kong and the Group 2 Kyoto Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan through 2021.
Golden Goal got good at the end of the 2021 Dubai World Cup Carnival and has stayed good into 2022. Second behind Secret Ambition in the Godolphin Mile last March, Golden Goal turned the tables Friday on Secret Ambition and won the Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 on opening night of the 2022 Carnival.
The undefeated Australian 2-year-old filly Coolangatta will be a strong favorite as she seeks her third win in Saturday’s $1.45 million Magic Millions 2-year-old Classic at Gold Coast Racecourse.
Coolangatta won Group 3 races in her first two starts – the Gimcrack Stakes at five furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Oct. 2, and the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at six furlongs at Doomben on Dec. 26, drawing away with ease on both occasions.
A full field of Dubai World Cup aspirants headlines the first racing program of the 2022 Dubai World Cup Carnival, which begins Friday at Meydan Racecourse and culminates with the Dubai World Cup card on March 26.
The Group 2, $250,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 drew 14 entrants, and while it’s rare for a Dubai race in January to yield true World Cup contenders, this is a solid, competitive bunch on a card that drew 73 horses in six Thoroughbred races. The program (live video and wagering at DRFBets.com) commences at 9 a.m. Eastern with a purebred Arabian race.
Swanston has accomplished enough in his career in Australia to rate among the leading contenders in Friday’s Ballina Cup at Ballina Racecourse without having to carry a burdensome weight.
A 4-year-old gelding, Swanston has won 6 of 21 and has been in excellent form the last two months. Trained by Greg Kilner, Swanston won consecutive starts in handicaps at seven furlongs at Grafton Racecourse on Nov. 28 and at 6 3/4 furlongs at Doomben on Dec. 10 before finishing second to the former stakes runner Wonderful Riri in a lucrative handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs at Doomben on Dec. 26.
