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Iconic father-daughter training duo – Grant & Alana Williams – are out to extend their record in Saturday’s 2025 Railway Stakes in WA chasing yet another victory in the opening Group 1 Perth race for the season with the well-supported favourite Watch Me Rock.
A classic mile race that has been won by a host of greats over the years including a number of subsequent Cox Plate winners, the Group 1 $1.5 million Railway Stakes (1600m) has drawn a typically top-class field of middle-distance stars to kick off the elite level action of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival.
Heading the latest Railway Stakes odds at Ladbrokes.com.au paying $3.40 and firming following a favourable barrier four draw on Tuesday evening is Awesome Rock five-year-old Watch Me Rock.
The ‘Wizard of the West’ and a five-time winner of the event, William Pike will partner this year’s favourite.
Pike famously won the race four times on the trot between 2018 and 2021 and is after his first victory since partnering Western Empire to victory.
Grant & Alana Williams prepared all four of those Railway Stakes winners, while Pike and Grant Williams also combined in 2014 to win with Elite Belle.
Historically then, Watch Me Rock is from the right stable with the right hoop aboard for success in his opening Group 1 assignment.
A genuine Ascot track specialist having won eight of his 10 starts at the course, he is up in grade looking to go back-to-back after taking out the Group 3 Asian Beau Stakes (1400m) second-up on November 1.
Undefeated in his two previous mile assignments, Watch Me Rock is a deserving top fancy out to be the first Railway Stakes favourite to salute for the punters since Trix Of The Trade ($5 in 2022).
The danger occupying the second line of Railway Stakes betting at $4 is the fellow Team Williams trained Western Empire who is out to become just the third horse in history to win the race more than once.
Tudor Mak (1966-67) is the sole back-to-back champion, while Luckygray (2011 & 2013) became just the second dual champion and the first to do so on non-successive years.
Western Empire won back in 2021 as a four-year-old and the now eight-year-old warhorse is looking for his slice of history on the weekend drawn the rails with Billy Egan booked for the ride.
He lines-up for his eighth Group 1 assignment on Saturday so experience is on his side but statistically he is up against it as no horse aged more than six-years-old has won in over 25 years.
The grand old galloper also faces a tough task weight-wise carrying the 58kg top-weight second-up having finished fifth fresh two lengths beaten here on November 8 in the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m).
Winner of that event, Super Smink, is also in the mix for Saturday’s WA feature with the Dan Morton trained Super One mare out to be the first female champion since Inspirational Girl (2020).
She presents fit third-up on Saturday with the confidence of her last-start victory but suffered a blow drawing out wide with gate 15.
Chris Parnham retains the ride with the pair paying $7.50 to overcome the alley and complete the Lee Steere Stakes – Railway double for the first time since Belle Bizarre (2006).
Two other final acceptors are also currently under $10 for the win with unlikely starter Cosmic Crusader ($6.50) being kept very safe in betting despite being the fourth emergency and the Chris Waller trained interstate raider Osipenko ($9).
The interstate visitors made a clean sweep of the Perth Group 1s last season including Port Lockroy for Annabel & Rob Neasham in the Railway, and Osipenko is one of the best fancied of the visitors to collect a top prize in WA this year.
Waller’s six-year-old son of Pierro suffered a blow with a wide gate 17 draw for jockey Tim Clark but remains high up the markets right down in weight with 55kg after carrying 62kg to victory in the Little Dance over the Randwick mile on Melbourne Cup Day.
Other notable hopes in this year’s Railway Stakes field include four-year-old Overshare mare Storyville ($16) for the Williams’ camp who looks terrific value after her lead-up Group 3 RJ Peters Stakes win at the track and ultra-consistent So You Think gelding Diamond Scene ($15) who won the Group 3 Eurythmic Stakes beating Watch Me Rock (3rd) at his latest.
The 2025 Swan Draught Railway Stakes is set to run as Ascot Race 9 as the penultimate event on Saturday’s 10-race card with jump time scheduled for 4:58pm (AWST) / 7:58pm (AEDT).
| 12. Watch Me Rock (4) J: William Pike54kg 11x31T: Grant & Alana Williams | ||
| 1. Western Empire (1) J: Billy Egan58kg 914x5T: Grant & Alana Williams | ||
| 11. Sentimental Hero (9) J: Craig Newitt54kg x5211T: Peter Fernie | ||
| 8. Diamond Scene (3) J: Clint Johnston-Porter54.5kg 212x1T: Michael Grantham | ||
| 2. Magnificent Andy (8) J: Brad Parnham57.5kg 2x154T: Stephen Miller | ||
| 7. Comfort Me (5) J: Holly Watson54.5kg 00x23T: Rhys Radford | ||
| 6. Osipenko (14) J: Tim Clark55kg x4301T: Chris Waller | ||
| 13. Admiration Express (6) J: Lucy Fiore53.5kg 41x78T: Jason Miller | ||
| 5. In Good Order (2) J: Shaun O'Donnell55kg 317x2T: Daniel Morton | ||
| 15. Ginger Baker (15) J: Joey Azzopardi53.5kg 13146T: Daniel & Ben Pearce | ||
| 14. Depth Of Character (16) J: Reece Jones53.5kg 03084T: Annabel & Rob Archibald | ||
| 4. Super Smink (12) J: Chris Parnham56kg 79x31T: Daniel Morton | ||
| 3. Iowna Merc (7) J: Shaun McGruddy56.5kg 0x620T: Bjorn Baker | ||
| 9. Bustler (11) J: Steven Parnham54kg 89x07T: Neville Parnham | ||
| 16. Storyville (10) J: Fred W Kersley53kg 2x661T: Grant & Alana Williams | ||
| 10. Let's Galahvant (13) J: Natasha Faithfull54kg 020x0T: Daniel & Ben Pearce |
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