Godolphin’s Group 1 winning veteran, Cascadian, is favourite heading east this weekend to tackle the 2022 Northerly Stakes at Ascot in WA.

Veteran eight-year-old from the Godolphin stable, Cascadian, is hot favourite to win Perth’s 2022 Northerly Stakes this weekend in WA. Photo: Steve Hart.

The Perth Summer Racing Carnival continues on Saturday with the Group 1 $1.5 million Northerly Stakes (1800m) – formerly the Kingston Town Classic – running as a key lead-up to the Perth Cup on New Year’s Day.

The Northerly Stakes field is down to 15 summer stayers with the early withdrawal of the Stephen Miller-trained Last Of The Line (3).

Updated Northerly Stakes odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au have the James Cummings-trained eight-year-old Cascadian on top at $2.90.

Coming into barrier 11 with James McDonald to ride, the $5.6 million earner was last seen running a close fifth when under two lengths off Alligator Blood at Flemington in the Group 1 VRC Champions Stakes (1600m).

Prior to that he was on a hot streak winning the $1 million Group 2 Hill Stakes (2000m) and Group 3 Craven Plate (1800m) back-to-back at Randwick in October.

Proven at the Northerly Stakes distance having won his two previous 1800m starts, Cascadian has been brought-on fitness-wise with a winning Belmont trial by over two lengths on November 21 giving him a good look around Perth ahead of his test on the weekend.

The danger occupying the second line of Northerly Stakes betting at $3.20 is the star local filly Amelia’s Jewel for Miller.

Drawn the rails with Patrick Carbery to ride on just 50kg in the weight-for-age showdown, the brilliant young daughter of Siyouni comes off a good win over Bustler in the Group 2 WA Guineas (1600m) with 54.5kg on November 19.

She has won five of her six career starts to date and is looking to join Perfect Reflection (2015), Arcadia Queen (2018) and Kay Cee (2019) as the most recent Kingston Town Classic / Northerly Stakes winning fillies.

Carbery meanwhile is after his third winning ride in the event having recently won aboard Pounamu (2017) and Regal Power (2021) last year.

The WA Guineas runner-up Bustler rounds out the single-figure Northerly Stakes hopes at $9.50 to turn the tables on the filly.

Trainer Neville Parnham has won the race three times previously with dual champion Playing God (2010-11) and again in 2019 with the aforementioned filly Kay Cee.

This season he saddles-up an ultra-consistent son of Playing God in Bustler who is bred to win.

The three-year-old has had five starts for four wins and the WA Guineas second when carrying 56.5kg to go down just a half-length.

Back to 52kg he jumps from barrier nine (into eight) and shapes up as a genuine danger.

The early Northerly Stakes market mover backed into $11 odds is the Adam Durrant-trained Treasured Star to be ridden by ace two-time winning hoop William Pike from a gun gate.

The four-year-old Toronado mare, winner of last year’s WA Guineas, is three-from-six at the Ascot track.

She presents fit fourth-up on the weekend, won the Group 3 Asian Beau Stakes narrowly two back and was last seen finishing sixth in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) when hampered by her outside barrier 16 of 16 draw.

The Railway Stakes winner Trix Of The Trade also backs-up in the Northerly this weekend looking to be the first to do the Group 1 double in Perth since Sniper’s Bullet (2009).

The Colin Webster-trained Trade Fair four-year-old had 1.71 lengths to spare on the line in the Railway carrying 53kg and is paying $12 going up to 58.5kg from the outside alley on Saturday.

The 2022 Northerly Stakes is set to run as Ascot Race 8 at 4:45pm (AWST) local time with full markets from Ladbrokes.com.au available here.

2022 Northerly Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw

Table Credit: Racing Australia.