The official final field for Saturday’s Kingston town Classic 2012 at Ascot Racecourse has now been released with a capacity line-up of 16 starters plus an emergency accepted for the final Group 1 race of the Festival of Perth Racing.
This year’s $500,000 Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) is shaping up as a cracker edition with the early favourite being the Gino Poletti-trained Luckygray.
An ultra-consistent Bradbury’s Luck grey who has won 11 of their 17 starts to date, Luckygray was last seen running a brave second when failing to defend their title in the Railway Stakes over the Ascot mile having had the 58kg top-weight on their back.
On Saturday Luckygray will be better suited to the weight-for-age conditions of the Kingston Town Classic, a race they ran fifth to Playing God in 12 months ago.
The horse that scored an upset Railway Stakes victory over Luckygray last time out, Mr Moet, has also been accepted to back up in the Kingston Town this weekend.
Adam Durrant’s Mosayter gelding will be out for their fifth consecutive turf triumph having won their last three winter starts including the Group 3 Strickland Stakes (2000m) at Belmont Park before their first-up Railway triumph as a $20 outsider.
The next best fancied runner for the Kingston Town pre-barrier draw following Luckygray meanwhile is dual defending champ Playing God, the Blackfriars stallion having won the past two editions of the Kingston Town.
Back in 2010 they won the race as a three-year-old following victories in both the WA Guineas and Aquanita Stakes.
Playing God returned last year after a year of mixed results that included a testing five run campaign in Melbourne winning his second Kingston Town Classic this time as a $20 outsider after a failed 14th in the Railway Stakes.
This year they also come via the Railway but they caught the eye with a much improved fourth when beaten only a length and a quarter, good form as they head into Saturday’s race looking to make history.
Playing God’s trainer Neville Parnham has also accepted for God Has Spoken who was far from disgraced when crossing a close fifth in the Railway just a nose further back than their stablemate.
Along with Railway winner Mr Moet meanwhile there are two other last start winners engaged in the Kingston Town this year with Colin Webster’s Ascot Gold Cup winning mare Pop Culture and the Adam Durrant-trained Chester Road coming off a first-up victory by two and a half lengths in the Listed Carbine Club of WA Stakes (1400m) from November 24.
Chester Road is one of three chances for Durrant in the field along with Mr Moet and roughie chance, Savabeel gelding Lopov who failed to back up from their Kalgoorlie Cup victory in September when dead last in the Carbine Club of WA Stakes.
Other more notable hopefuls then include the Grant Williams-trained Ranger set to improve on their first-up seventh in the Railway, Lindsey Smith’s progressive Red Ransom filly Fuddle Dee Duddle last seen running fourth to Academus in the WA Guineas, Victorian raider Wall Street and Railway Stakes third placegeter Rosie Rocket.
The sole emergency who will be waiting for early scratching to make the final line-up is then the Darren McAuliffe-trained Snippetson three-year-old Rebelson.
See below for the complete 2012 Kingston Town Classic final field with the barrier draw to be released shortly.
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2012 Kingston Town Classic Final Field
Ascot Racecourse – 08/12/2012
# | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x630121976 | BELORA | Daniel Morton | Jarrad Noske | 59kg |
2 | 52112112×1 | CHESTER ROAD | Adam Durrant | Peter Hall | 59kg |
3 | 7x46x20092 | COLOUR CORRECT | Ross & Clint Price | Paul Harvey | 59kg |
4 | 12x000x025 | GOD HAS SPOKEN | Neville Parnham | Brad Parnham | 59kg |
5 | 9x0x0811x0 | LOPOV (NZ) | Adam Durrant | – | 59kg |
6 | 5x11140x12 | LUCKYGRAY | Gino Poletti | Shaun O’Donnell | 59kg |
7 | 5413×23219 | MASCHINO | Graham Yuill | Ms Kyra Yuill | 59kg |
8 | 14132111×1 | MR MOET | Adam Durrant | Daniel Staeck | 59kg |
9 | 1x346x7304 | PLAYING GOD | Neville Parnham | Steven Parnham | 59kg |
10 | 11623560×7 | RANGER | Grant Williams | William Pike | 59kg |
11 | 3114041×68 | SHAMARDASHING | John P Thompson | Patrick Carbery | 59kg |
12 | 6060x7x358 | WALL STREET (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Steven Arnold | 59kg |
13 | 6317×53586 | ZESTER | Daniel Morton | Glenn Smith | 59kg |
14 | 143x23x423 | ROSIE ROCKET | Justin Warwick | Shaun Meeres | 57kg |
15 | 21217×3151 | POP CULTURE | Colin Webster | Troy Turner | 56.5kg |
16 | 3x32x03714 | FUDDLE DEE DUDDLE | Lindsey Smith | Glen Boss | 50kg |
17e | x16x133116 | REBELSON | Darren Mcauliffe | Jason Whiting | 52kg |