Australian Racing: Uno Moon can reach new heights

There’s metro racing from both Kensington and Belmont among the six meetings set to take place on Thursday.

Race 6 Kensington

Piastri @ 4.60

Race 6 Belmont

Siberian Siren @ 4.60

Race 5 Ipswich

Uno Moon @ 4.40

Piastri to resume with win

A soft 6 track is expected at Kensington, with the sixth race of the day an 1100m Benchmark 78 handicap.

The four-year-old Misty Legend is set to jump from next to the rail and he is expected to start favourite, having resumed with a victory at Warwick Farm last month.

Misty Legend came home half-a-length clear of his eight rivals when racing off a low weight in a Benchmark 72 handicap on that occasion.

The son of I Am Invincible contested a 1000m event that day, however, he is yet to win over this distance.

With that in mind, preference here is for top weight PIASTRI, who registered wins in three of his five starts last prep, including when racing first up at Sale.

Piastri won by one-and-a-half-lengths in a 1000m Benchmark 58 handicap held on a wet track that day, with his two subsequent wins also coming in wet conditions.

Ciaron Maher’s representative ended that prep with a down-the-field effort in a 1200m Benchmark 84 handicap at Moonee Valley in September.

Anna Roper’s three-kilogram claim is a positive here and, dropping back in distance, her mount looks capable of recording his fourth win in six starts on going described as soft.

Siren to salute at Belmont

Seven races have been scheduled for Belmont with the sixth race a 1200m Class 5 handicap event.

A good 4 track is forecast with Simon Miller’s Deferred expected to jump as favourite following a third in a Benchmark 66+ handicap at Ascot last month.

The filly was beaten just under one-and-a-half-lengths when contesting a 1000m event that day and she has a good barrier in five here.

This daughter of Epaulette was racing first up that day and she rates highly having finished in the first three in all four previous starts over this distance.

However, the pick here is SIBERIAN SIREN, with the filly having made two starts since returning from a spell.

The first of those saw her beaten less than a length into third when racing over 1200m in a Benchmark 66+ handicap at Ascot at the start of last month.

Trained by Sean & Jake Casey, she went on to be beaten a length over the same course and distance when contesting a Benchmark 72+ handicap three weeks later.

Both of those efforts came on a sound surface and any softening of the going would be no issue, with the filly having won on a wet track over this course and distance in July last year.

Brayden Gaerth claims two-kilograms here and his mount looks up to recording the third win of her career.

Moon for Ipswich glory

The fifth race on the card at Ipswich is an 800m Benchmark 70 handicap expected to take place on a heavy 9 surface.

UNO MOON takes the eye here after demonstrating a liking for this course in the past, having won both previous starts here.

Those two victories both came over this distance, including on a soft track when contesting a Benchmark 70 handicap in October.

The five-year-old has been off the track since finishing sixth of seven over 1000m when contesting a Benchmark 85 handicap at Eagle Farm the following month.

Michael Lakey’s representative gets a marked drop in grade here and, having gone well fresh in the past, he is selected to resume with a win.