The Group 1 Northerly Stakes takes centre stage on the penultimate day of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival this Saturday, with $1.5 million on the line and plenty of eyes on the feature.
Undefeated favourite King of Light has attracted strong early support as he gears up for his toughest test yet, facing proven performers like Western Empire, Watch Me Rock, and Vivy Air.
Day 4 of The Pinnacles also features the Listed Towton Cup over 2200m, and with the sun out and the track rated a Good 4, conditions couldn’t be better.
For our full thoughts, tips, and best plays across the card, dive into our 2025 Northerly Stakes Day Preview below!
There’s no reason to jump off ROYAL TORONADO (4) as he drops back to the mile.
The Williams-trained five-year-old has been rock-solid this prep, only just missing the placings over this track and trip two runs back after getting a mile out of his ground and charging late to finish 2.5 lengths off them.
It was a similar tale when stretching to 1800m last start—posted wide throughout before unleashing again with some sharp late splits.
Now fitter, and with the blinkers going on for the first time, he looks awfully hard to hold out.
ACE QUEEN SUITED (9) has trialled up a treat ahead of her debut.
The Snippetson filly showed genuine sustained speed in her latest hit-out, making up a stack of ground before taking over at the 200m and holding a narrow margin through the line.
The draw makes things a touch tricky for Brad Parnham, but she profiles as a filly who’ll get back and charge late. If she brings that same turn of foot on race day, she’ll be right in the finish.
GRAND RESERVE (6) looks primed to run a big race fourth-up for Daniel Morton and the team.
The Maschino gelding has taken improvement from each run this prep as he’s stepped out in trip, charging home from a wide position last week to finish only 1.3 lengths off Mississippi Dawn over the 1800m.
A proven winner at 2000m last campaign, he then went on to place twice over this journey at Pinjarra and Northam, rounding out his prep in strong order. With the speed on here, he should be one of the first into stride and gets every chance to put himself in the race early.
CASTLE ROAD (1) might simply have the class edge here.
Still lightly raced, he tackled the older horses last week and wasn’t disgraced, finishing 3.4 lengths off them in a much tougher affair behind Cessation and September Born.
The quick backup looks a deliberate play, and with the 3kg claim he gets in very nicely at the weights.
Back in trip, back in grade, and back against his own age, he should roll forward and prove one of the hardest to reel in.
SHMOOV MOOVA (8) is starting to test punters’ patience, but he looks to have found a very winnable race with the blinkers going on for the first time.
Tim Clark jumped aboard two weeks back over 1200m and, despite being posted three-wide without cover off a nine-week freshen, the gelding still worked home soundly down the outside.
He should take big improvement stepping up in trip, and with William Pike jumping back aboard and only 54kg on his back, there’s plenty to suggest he can deliver on his talent here.
Big watch on AUTO CRUISE (9) now that she’s had a couple of runs to tighten up.
Holly Taylor’s talented mare simply got too far back here a few weeks ago over the same trip, but she still made a huge impression late—charging home for second and producing some of the fastest closing splits of the meeting.
She’s done little wrong in her four-start career and maps to get every favour from the inside draw. With Clint Johnston-Porter sticking and a likely handier spot in running, she’ll be extremely hard to hold out.
RALLY THE TROOPS (8) draws a much softer gate this time around as he looks to atone for a slightly underwhelming fresh run over 1200m at Belmont last month.
The slow start proved costly, and he also found himself held up briefly in the straight from an awkward draw under William Pike, eventually finishing 1.6 lengths away.
He’s been kept fresh with close to a month between runs and now gets Fred Kersley aboard with only 56kg to carry. The rise in grade makes this a touch tougher than a standard Class 3, but he’s certainly worth a look given his strong 1400m record, including three wins over the trip.
The draw certainly doesn’t help, but I’m still convinced FOREVER BOY (10) will be too good for them.
His win last Saturday over 1800m was one of the highlights of the card—jumping cleanly, parking in behind the speed, and then surging three-wide on the turn to get the better of them late.
By Charm Spirit, he profiles as a horse who’ll relish even more ground, and we saw a glimpse of that three back at Pinjarra when he produced a similarly strong run from off the pace. If he lands anywhere reasonable in the run, he’ll take a power of beating.
The more I sift through this race, the harder it is to get away from KING OF LIGHT (15).
The unbeaten three-year-old has all the hype—and deservedly so—after storming home from midfield to win the WA Guineas three weeks ago. It was narrow, sure, but he still carried a sense of authority with the race shape playing right into his hands.
He looks set to go to another level stepping out an extra furlong, and while the wide draw isn’t ideal, the drop to 52kg under William Pike is the absolute key.
If he gets the right cart into it, he’s the one they’ll all be chasing.
Happy to give BLACK ORA (10) another look.
Her run here a few weeks back over the same track and trip was solid without winning, finishing within half a length of Jaz Session despite covering plenty of extra ground throughout.
Even so, she still rattled off some sharp late splits over the final 200m and now gets in 3kg lighter, with Pike sticking for the ride. Four runs into her prep and always a genuine threat over this course and distance, she’s more than deserving of her spot at the top of the market.