A recent win and a favorable weight assignment could give Hardyo an advantage in a one-mile handicap at Tamworth Racecourse in Australia on Tuesday.
Trained by Jane Clement, Hardyo has won 5 of 39 starts, with two of the wins coming in the 6-year-old gelding’s last four starts. Hardyo won a seven-furlong handicap at Inverell on Oct. 16 and followed with a second at Moree on Oct. 29 and a seventh in a field of 13 at Armidale on Nov. 7.
The 6-year-old Australian mare Trescha is showing signs of a career revival despite a 12-race losing streak.
Trescha, winner of three of 29 starts, has not won since July 2020, but ran well enough in a recent start at Port Macquarie to suggest she can be a factor in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Taree Racecourse on Monday.
Trained by Tracey Bartley, Trescha was second by a little more than 2 1/4 lengths in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Port Macquarie on Nov. 11.
Paul Lally:
R1 10-3-2-8
R2 9-1-12-10
R3 2-5-4-3
R4 1-3-5-4
R5 2-5-1-3
R6 2-9-7-3
R7 6-4-11-5
R8 6-11-9-12
R9 1-8-9-10
R10 3-8-6-1
Best Bet R8 N6 Super Ten
Longshot R1 N10 Gorgeous Vitality
Play Race8 QQP 6-9-11
Tom Wood:
R1: 8-3-13-10
R2: 9-10-1-12
R3: 5-2-8-6
R4: 7-2-3-9
R5: 5-2-3-1
R6: 2-7-3-9
R7: 6-4-8-5
R8: 9-6-11-1
R9: 2-1-5-9
R10: 3-8-6-7
Between wins in hurdle races in Australia in May and July, the 6-year-old gelding Wil John was redirected to a flat handicap at 2 1/4 miles at Bendigo Racecourse in June, a race he won comfortably.
The victory gave Wil John sufficient qualifying points to start in Sunday’s $216,660 Jericho Cup for Australian and New Zealand-bred horses at 2 7/8 miles at Warrnambool Racecourse, west of Melbourne.
The Jericho Cup is the longest flat race in Australia and was launched in 2018, quickly becoming a destination for stayers on the Southern Hemisphere spring schedule.
Loves Only You, who won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 6 at Del Mar, tops a list of 21 international shippers among the horses selected to compete in the Hong Kong International Races on Dec. 14 at Sha Tin Racecourse.
As of Nov. 24, the Hong Kong Jockey Club listed 48 selected runners for the four Group 1 races on the HKIR program. The roster of prospective starters reflects horses the HKJC expects to be among the entries taken the week of the races, so few defections should be expected.
Ascot Racecourse in Perth, Australia, is home territory for Elite Street, who will be a solid favorite in Saturday’s Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at six furlongs at that venue.
Elite Street has won 6 of 8 starts at Ascot, including the 2020 Winterbottom Stakes, the 5-year-old gelding’s only victory at the highest level in four starts. In February and March, Elite Street started in three Group 1 races at Melbourne area tracks against the country’s toughest sprinters, but was not a factor.
Contrail’s undefeated record ended with a second-place finish in his eighth start in the 2020 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.
The losses have continued this year, with narrow misses in two starts in Grade 1 races in April and October. A 4-year-old colt, Contrail has one more chance for redemption before retirement. Contrail will be an odds-on favorite in Saturday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles.
A stalking style has been a valuable asset for the Australian gelding Ready to Humble, who has won 6 of 17 starts.
A 5-year-old, Ready to Humble came from a few lengths off the pace to win the Snake Gully Cup at seven furlongs at Gundagai Racecourse on Nov. 12 as the 5-2 favorite. The same tactic could work in Friday’s $71,900 Wodonga Cup at about a mile at Wodonga Racecourse, located northeast of Melbourne.
Paul Lally:
R1 1-7-4-2
R2 8-11-6-1
R3 4-2-10-5
R4 7-4-2-8
R5 1-3-4-7
R6 1-6-2-5
R7 5-11-1-2
R8 8-6-2-7
Best R8 N8 Drops of God
Longshot R7 N5 Yo Beauty
Play R7 QQP 1-5-11
Andrew Le Jeune:
R1: 2-1-7-4
R2: 8-11-5-10
R3: 2-5-3-11
R4: 8-2-7-4
R5: 1-3-11-4
R6: 3-1-11-10
R7: 11-3-1-5
R8: 8-2-12-4
Best: R1 N2 Ginson
Each/way: R4 N8 Faithful Trinity
Play: R1 Q/QP #1-2-7
Mark McNamara:
