Melbourne Spring Carnival Group 1 winner Gatting will carry the number one saddlecloth in the Group 1 $1m Kirin Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot in Perth on Saturday.
Gatting, above, will carry the number 1 saddlecloth in the 2019 Railway Stakes at Ascot in Perth. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Sixteen final acceptors make up the final field for the Railway Stakes, the first Group 1 feature of the 2019 Ascot Racing Carnival.
Gatting scored an upset win at $101 in the Group 1 $750,000 PFD Food Services Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 14 and is one of two Railway Stakes runners for prominent Western Australian trainer Darren Mcauliffe.
Mcauliffe will also saddle up The Velvet King who was a winner two starts back in the Group 3 $150,000 Northerly Stakes (1400m) at Ascot in Perth on October 19 before finishing third behind Star Exhibit and Gatting in the Group 2 $250,000 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) at Ascot in Perth on November 9.
Last start Flemington winner Reykjavik gets his chance to compete at Group 1 level in the Railway Stakes after winning the Group 3 $200,000 Network 110 Chatham Stakes (1400m) on November 9 and is one of two runners for Western Australian trainer Lindsey Smith who will also saddle up restricted class galloper Tamasa.
Chatham Stakes winning jockey Dean Yendall has retained the ride on Reykjavik who has pleased Smith since his Flemington win.
“Dean will ride Reykjavik in the Railway,” Smith told The West Australian.
“The horse shows peak form with Dean aboard.
“Reykjavik has thrived since Flemington and can run a big race on Saturday.”
The Velvet King has been installed as the $6.50 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au after the final field for the Railway Stakes was released on Monday while Gatting and Reykjavik are both marked at $12.
The barriers for the 2019 Railway Stakes will be drawn on Tuesday evening at 7.30 AEDT live on Sky Thoroughbred Central.
Betting for the 2019 Railway Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $6.50 The Velvet King, $7 Tellem We’re Comin, $8 Regal Power, Samizdat, $9 Best Of Days, $10 Achernar Star, $12 Gatting, Reykjavik, $14 Star Exhibit, $15 Perfect Jewel, $17 Variation, $26 Monolo Blahniq, $31 Mizlecki, $34 Tamasa, $41 Platoon, $51 Cockney Crew.
Final field for the 2019 Railway Stakes (1600m)
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Weight | Hcp Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x512251502 | GATTING | Darren Mcauliffe | – | 58kg | 112 |
| 2 | x5Nx738035 | BEST OF DAYS (GB) | James Cummings | Brad Rawiller | 57kg | 110 |
| 3 | 77051145×1 | STAR EXHIBIT | Adam Durrant | Peter Hall | 56.5kg | 109 |
| 4 | 09x211x524 | ACHERNAR STAR | Simon A Miller | Damien Oliver | 55.5kg | 107 |
| 5 | 1653138×71 | REYKJAVIK | Lindsey Smith | Dean Yendall | 53kg | 102 |
| 6 | x21412x213 | THE VELVET KING | Darren Mcauliffe | – | 53kg | 102 |
| 7 | 13x723x411 | TELLEM WE’RE COMIN | Grant & Alana Williams | Brenton Avdulla | 53kg | 99 |
| 8 | 34x523x272 | VARIATION | Stephen Miller | Brad Parnham | 53kg | 99 |
| 9 | 4187445×55 | MIZLECKI | Fred Kersley | – | 53kg | 94 |
| 10 | x684830x93 | PERFECT JEWEL | Adam Durrant | Ms Jade McNaught (a) | 53kg | 92 |
| 11 | 72240×9245 | MANOLO BLAHNIQ (NZ) | Tony Noonan | – | 53kg | 95 |
| 12 | 32321211×2 | REGAL POWER | Grant & Alana Williams | William Pike | 53kg | 94 |
| 13 | x13x11x651 | SAMIZDAT | Chris Gangemi | Jarrad Noske | 53kg | 91 |
| 14 | x71422x121 | COCKNEY CREW | Kieran McDonagh | – | 53kg | 87 |
| 15 | x05138x112 | PLATOON | Neville Parnham | Steven Parnham | 53kg | 82 |
| 16 | 22111×5453 | TAMASA | Lindsey Smith | Peter Knuckey | 53kg | 82 |
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