The odds on the Grant & Alana Williams-trained Tuscan Queen to go back-to-back for the fillies in the Group 1 $1 million Kingston Town Classic (1800m) this afternoon in Perth are on the drift with the favourite out over $3 for the win.
Best Of Days is the best fancied of the two Godolphin horses in the 2019 Kingston Town Classic field. Photo: Steve Hart.
Earlier in the week the flying three-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock, a winner of three of her four career starts to date, was as short as $2.60 through Ladbrokes.com.au in their Kingston Town Classic 2019 betting markets.
Drawn ideally in barrier three as she takes on an open-age field of 15 rivals in the weight-for-age classic, Tuscan Queen is now out to $3.10 Kingston Town Classic odds.
Perth’s leading jockey, the flying William Pike, partners the favourite in Ascot Race 8 chasing his third win in five years.
History shows just two fillies have won the Kingston Town Classic since the race was inaugurated in 1976, and Pike has been aboard both.
The first was Perfect Reflection in 2015 followed by last year’s champion Arcadia Queen, both trained by Grant Williams including the latter in partnership with his daughter Alana.
Team Williams then are also chasing successive Kingston Town Classic victories from one of their star fillies and Tuscan Queen has had the perfect lead-up into the million-dollar showdown.
Last start she won the Group 3 WA Champion Fillies Classic (1600m) carrying 55.5kg and she gets the weight relief with 50kg at WFA this afternoon.
She did her best work late over the mile on November 16 and so should relish the extra 200m as she looks for a career highlight.
“Tuscan Queen’s had a trouble-free preparation and this is her grand final,” co-trainer Grant Williams told the media this week.
“The three-year-olds look like they have an advantage with the low weight and have drawn really well.”
The team have a total of four Kingston Town Classic horses in the mix for 2019 with the other three-year-old being Sebring gelding Superstorm in gate four.
Superstorm is a market drifter out from $9.50 to $12 in the latest markets and is looking to improve on his last start fifth in the Group 2 WA Guineas (1600m).
Last start winning stablemates Mississippi Delta ($15) and Regal Power ($9.50) round out the Williams-trained contingent drawn in barriers six and 15 respectively.
Six-year-old High Chaparral mare Mississippi Delta won the Group 3 RJ Peters Stakes (1500m) in her first run since a fourth in January’s Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m) 11 months earlier and will only have taken improvement from the run.
Pierro four-year-old Regal Power has won three of his last four starts going back to the autumn including the Group 2 WATC Derby (2400m) in April and his lead-up success in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m).
While Pike may have come off from that eye-catching win from barrier 13 of 14, Regal Power is in good hands with star hoop Damien Oliver over in WA for the ride.
The other filly in the Kingston Town Classic field meanwhile is at generous odds of $10 with Neville Parnham saddling-up the well-bred Kay Cee from the inside alley.
Daughter of Parnham’s two-time Kingston Town Classic champion Playing God (2010-11), Kay Cee beat Tuscan Queen home earlier in the season winning the Listed Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m) before her third form a wide alley in the WA Champion Fillies Classic.
She caught the eye being kept fit with another lead-up run on November 23 against the boys, narrowly beaten by War Saint in the WA Guineas.
Best Of Days ($8.50), one of two in the line-up along with Tally ($21) for Godolphin, then rounds-out the single figure hopes after the close Railway Stakes second.
Click here for the latest 2019 Kingston Town Classic odds on the final Australian Group 1 race for 2019.
