It’s the final Australian Group 1 race of the calendar year and sights will be set on Perth’s Ascot Racecourse on Saturday evening for the 2019 Kingston Town Classic.
We’ve enjoyed a quality edition of the Perth Summer Carnival so far and heading into the final feature, the local and interstate contingents are currently tied at one Group 1 crown race each.
Who will win Saturday’s $1 million feature? My 2019 Kingston Town Classic tips can be found below.
Suggested Bets
- 2 Units E/W #8 Regal Power
- Boxed Trifecta of the selections below
We took Regal Power to win the Railway a fortnight ago and he returned a dominant performance to salute at double-figures, and I am happy to continue riding his outstanding form at generous Kingston Town Classic odds ($8 at publish). The Pierro gelding has now recorded five wins and four minors from his fifteen career starts and ran second in the Group 3 Asian Beau Stakes at his only other appearance this time. William Pike hops off and Damien Oliver jumps on and with even luck, he can finish over the top of his rivals again.
Pikey has elected to instead ride three-year-old filly Tuscan Queen in the Kingston Town Classic and while the popular West Australian hoop is generally good at making the right decision, I don’t think that he has in this instance. True, she is an outstanding type, she’s drawn and weighted to win, but this is a big step out in class from the three-year-old races that she has been contesting, and she’ll need to go to another level.
Pacodali has continued to improve with racing this time and is up to winning the Kingston Town Classic. The Paco Boy gelding ran fourth in the Group 2 Crystal Mile in October; placing in the Kyneton Cup before beating a quality field to the line in the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes last time out. This is a step up in class, but he has continued to improve as Lindsay Smith has raised the bar and could lead all the way.
There is no denying that Gailo Chop has mixed his form since returning from an extended break and joining Matt Williams’ stable, but he is quite clearly still capable of a big performance on his day and a repeat of his run in the Underwood Stakes in spring would see him in the finish of this. The Deportivo gelding is a multiple Group 1 winner and is rock-hard fit for this contest.