This weekend the Festival of Perth Racing will host its final Group 1 meeting when on Saturday, December 4, the Kingston Town Classic Day lights up Ascot Racecourse with a bumper nine-race card planned including the $125,000 Group 3 Lee Steere Classic (1400m).
The 2010 Sir Ernest Lee Steere Classic final field features 12 top three-year-olds lead by the Stephen Miller-trained Black Felix.
Super Blackfriars sprinter Black Felix boasts an impressive career record of four wins and a third from five starts and is seeking their fourth consecutive win on Saturday, most recently having taken out the Listed Placid Ark Stakes (1200m) on November 20.
Black Felix however has suffered a slight setback drawing the far outside barrier, jumping from gate 12 with Paul Harvey aboard.
Placid Ark Stakes runner-up Even Astar is the other early favourite in the Lee Steere Classic field, the Neville Parnham-trained filly in red hot form.
The beautiful grey daughter of Kendel Star enjoyed back-to-back stakes wins at Ascot in October before running second to Black Felix last start.
Drawn ideally in barrier four and set to carry just 54kg with regular rider Steven Parnham aboard, Even Astar is a big danger in the Lee Steere Classic.
Leading local trainer Parnham also has his improving More Than Ready colt Manahara set to start in the Lee Steere on Saturday coming off their maiden career win on November 24.
Other notable three-year-olds running in this year’s Lee Steere Classic include lightly-raced Lark Hill galloper Cockeyed Bob, another grey Kendel Star filly What Do You Know fresh off their breakthrough race win, and the Jim Taylor-trained duo of Miss Condition (barrier three) and Moonlight Bay (barrier 11).
The highlight event at Ascot on Saturday will be the $500,000 Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) where Neville Parnham’s star three-year-old Playing God is the favourite in the 16-horse final field.
The Lee Steere Classic betting odds will be shortly and published here at Races.com.au along with a detailed race preview and our exclusive betting tips so stay tuned.
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2010 Lee Steere Classic Final Field, Barrier Draw & Weights
| # | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Barrier | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BLACK FELIX | Paul Harvey | Stephen Miller | 12 | 56 |
| 2 | SOUND SYSTEM | Lucas Camilleri | Quona Cooke | 8 | 56 |
| 3 | VERACIOUS | Shaun McGruddy | Trevor Andrews | 6 | 56 |
| 4 | COCKEYED BOB | Alan Kennedy | Darryn Pateman | 5 | 56 |
| 5 | MANAHARA | Brad Parnham | Neville Parnham | 7 | 56 |
| 6 | MISS CONDITION | – | Jim Taylor | 3 | 54 |
| 7 | EVEN ASTAR | Steven Parnham | Neville Parnham | 4 | 54 |
| 8 | AMREEKA | Daniel Staeck | Fred Kersley | 10 | 54 |
| 9 | PLAYCIDIUM MINT | Troy Turner | Craig Wright | 1 | 54 |
| 10 | WHAT DO YOU KNOW | Peter Knuckey | Sharon Miller | 9 | 54 |
| 11 | MOONLIGHT BAY | – | Jim Taylor | 11 | 54 |
| 12 | SPARKADIA | Shaun O’Donnell | Darren McAuliffe | 2 | 54 |
