Grant & Alana Williams’ classy mare Cosmic Storm has opened the short-priced favourite to continue her stellar summer with success in the La Trice Classic 2016 field on Perth Cup Day.
Jockey Peter Hall (pictured aboard Delicacy) rides the defending champ Ideal Image in the La Trice Classic field 2016 on Saturday in Perth. Photo: Jenny Barnes.
The key Ascot Racecourse support act on Saturday, this season’s $150,000 Group 3 La Trice Classic (1800m) has attracted a nine-horse field of fillies and mares.
Drawn the rails with barrier one and due to be ridden by Perth’s best William Pike is the current $2.15 favourite in La Trice Classic betting at Ladbrokes.com.au Cosmic Storm.
The in-form Street Cry five-year-old has won two of her past three starts this time in, most recently the Listed Starstruck Classic (1600m) over the Ascot mile on December 17.
She has winning form up to 2000m and so can handle the extra metres this weekend and has done everything right leading-up to her chance to improve on a third in last summer’s La Trice Classic results.
Cosmic Storm is joined in the La Trice Classic field this season by the fellow Team Williams-trained Silverstream who is also drawn well in barrier four for her hoop Glenn Smith.
Rated a $3.90 chance as the second favourite in the La Trice Classic odds, the Al Maher five-year-old also comes off a number of good Perth Summer Racing Carnival runs.
Two back she won the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic (1400m), a race Cosmic Storm ran fifth in, before her last start second to that same star stablemate in the Starstruck Classic that saw her run over further than 1400m for the first time.
The other two hopefuls under $10 for the win on Saturday are the reigning La Trice Classic winner Ideal Image ($8.50) and Antique Dream ($8.50) drawn in barriers seven and five respectively.
Geoff Durrant & Jason Miller’s More Than Ready mare Ideal Image is out to make history as the first dual winner of the race since its inauguration in 2003.
The now five-year-old has been hit-and-miss this summer including a last (16th) in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) in November and her seventh when under four lengths beaten in the Starstruck.
Jockey Peter Hall continues his association on Saturday, while Chris Parnham rides stablemate Antique Dream.
Redoute’s Choice five-year-old Antique Dream won over 1400m at the track in early December before crossing a gallant third in the Starstruck classic.
She was beaten only one and a quarter lengths, has a five-from-ten winning strike rate at Ascot and only needs to see out the 1800m to feature in the finish once more.
Check out the full La Trice Classic 2016 field, barriers, jockeys and latest Fixed Win odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost (T&Cs apply) – below.
