Ascot Offers Group 3 La Trice and Group 2 Perth Cup
We hope everyone had decent holidays, as best as can be expected at least, and while our sympathies lie with those dealing with the bush fires in the east, our business is Thoroughbred racing and there are some nice Group quality races in Western Australia this weekend.
Ascot is putting on a nine-race affair.
Race 6 is the Group 3 La Trice Classic (1800 metres) for fillies and mares at set weight plus penalty conditions.
We always enjoy the gender-restricted racing and the La Trice Classic currently lists the field at nine. This is a tough race to tip, which makes us glad that we do not supply selections, as this race could boost our already amply supply of enemies.
The All-In market for the race features a tight spread, from the $3.10 Ladbrokes quote for favourite Snowchino to the $21 for Royal Strata and Eye Art.
Snowchino won her last time out, but she faces close competition form Mizlecki ($3.60), Like A Butterfly ($4.50) and Perfect Jewel ($5).
Our unscientific method for racing in Perth is to find the mount of William Pike, Perfect Jewel in this instance. They will start from the rail.
Race 8 is the Group 2 Perth Cup (2400 metres), an open handicap for staying types.
By the same lack of logic we explained for the La Trice, we found Mississippi Delta and Pike paired as the $2.70 favourites.
The market for the field of 13 is not so tight. All the horses are weighted at 53 kg.
Mississippi Delta has not been burning up the track, with a fourth and a ninth from her last two, but she won the Group 3 R J Peters at Ascot back in November over 1500 metres with Pike riding, so the form gurus are suggesting that the weight drop will be a benefit.
It is a bit of a gulf back to the second line, occupied by Taxagano.
The six-year-old gelding is attracting money, shortening from $8.50 to the current quote of $.650. He has three wins and nothing lower than a fourth over his last six, but he has never won above Listed grade, so Group 2 is quite a leap.