Races

10 Of The Best

Posted on | Posted by Digby Beacham

Digby Beacham profiles 10 horses to monitor closely once racing returns to Ascot.

1. JOKERS GRIN

As the reigning WA Horse of the Year, it’s no surprise to see this bloke assume the No.1 seed as we enter the next few months at racing headquarters. His performances dictate he does. Now a fully furnished five-year-old, his spring/summer campaign will be restricted to the feature sprints here in Perth and given he was the first local horse to win The Quokka earlier this year, looms as the horse they all must beat in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m). No horse covers the ground in WA like Jokers Grin and he does so with a minimum of fuss. A proper animal.

2. COSMIC CRUSADER

Where is this horse’s ceiling? Whilst it’s hard to accurately assess, there’s no denying it’s high. Really high. The 1400m and 1650m victories last month, by a combined margin of 12 lengths, reeked of arrogance. Instantly, they led to him being installed a short-priced Railway Stakes favourite with TABtouch. He has always flashed potential and from afar, it appears he has morphed from a boy into a man. He might just become “The Man” over the next couple of months.

3. KING OF LIGHT

Did someone mention X factor? If you did and were talking about King Of Light, go to the front of the classroom. This Dan Morton-prepared gelding made an impression as a late-season two-year-old. Now before you question what he beat, remember this … the eye doesn’t lie. The manner in which he savaged the line over 1300m and 1400m screamed WA Guineas contender. The recent trial was breathtaking. It wouldn’t be a shock if he found his way to a Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m), a feature in which three-year-olds have an excellent record.

4. MACHINE GUN GRACIE

We haven’t seen this imposing daughter of Maschino publicly since her heroics in the autumn. If you have forgotten, let me remind you. In her first racing preparation, Machine Gun Gracie broke her maiden status over a mile at Pinjarra at start No.2 and was then placed in the Listed 1000 Guineas (1800m) at her next outing. She then blitzed her own sex in the Listed Natasha Stakes (2200m) and WA Oaks (2400m) before taking care of the boys in the Group 2 WA Derby (2400m). She has to improve again this time in, but if she does, look out.

5. WATCH ME ROCK

If Grant and Alana Williams believe Watch Me Rock is the stable’s best hope of winning a Railway Stakes, who are we to argue? He went to a new level last season when a deliberate approach to boost his rating was as successful as it was methodical. Watch Me Rock won four of his five races last campaign and now boasts nine victories from only 16 starts. If he continues on his current trajectory (and the trials at Lark Hill would suggest he is humming), it would take an extremely brave person to oppose the belief there is most definitely a good race in him.

6. OPPORTUNISTIC

It’s probably a good thing Opportunistic can’t read because he if he did, he would be disappointed. He looked like being the Peters Investments’ pin-up horse for The Pinnacles after going crash, bang, wallop in his three starts as a three-year-old — a 1400m maiden into the Listed Raconteur Stakes (1400m) into the Listed Belmont Guineas (1600m). Then Cosmic Crusader said: “Hold my beer.” Recent history says early-season four-year-olds have a major role to play in the WA features. As a son of So You Think, it’s fair to assume he will only get better next preparation and the preparation after that. What we have before us right now though is genuinely exciting.

7. TWISTED STEEL

When sprinting three-year-old features locally are discussed, a name that quickly enters the conversation is Simon Miller. And so it is again this spring with Twisted Steel. Like King Of Light, the striking son of Rommel did what he pleased as a two-year-old, following a commanding debut victory at Northam with a Saturday stroll in the park as a $1.24 favourite at start No.2. Like so many from the stable, Twisted Steel breaks cleanly and burns the candle at both ends. When the penny finally drops, he is going prove a daunting proposition.

8. SUPER SMINK

Some will say the form around Super Smink is already well exposed. That would be right. Now a five-year-old mare who looks at her physical peak, Dan Morton is excited about what’s in store at Ascot. With a better barrier in last year’s Railway Stakes (1600m), she might already be a Group 1 winner. The two trials ahead of her return in the Crawford Stakes (1200m) have been terrific and with her rating, she can be assured of gaining a start wherever the stable desires. Her turn of foot remains one of the best in the State.

9. DIAMOND SCENE

Michael Grantham and Clint Johnston-Porter will be hoping it’s a case of third time lucky with Perth Cup aspirant Diamond Scene. Ninth in the 2024 edition and runner-up to Hemlock Stone on January 1 this year, the now six-year-old has been schooled up with three trials, the most recent being this week at Lark Hill, ahead of his imminent return to racing. Having recently turned six, he went to a new level last time in and with our distance ranks here being a little on the light side, a proven staying commodity like Diamond Scene has a major role to play.

10. MAGNIFICENT ANDY

This grand old campaigner forced his way into the top 10 with his deeds on the Goldfields over the weekend. It was further evidence of Magnificent Andy’s talent levels. A proven weight-for-age performer, Stephen Miller’s gelding simply does not know how to run a bad race, as evidenced by his fourth placing fresh in the autumn behind Jokers Grin in The Quokka, beaten only a length. Group 1 targets are on the agenda and understandably so.

*As is the case when compiling lists like the one above, there are several horses desperately unlucky not to be included. Honourable mentions to Western Empire, Luvnwar, Zipaway, Bustler, West Star, Yes Queen, The Boss Lady, Mardusa, Repossession, Twain’s Angel, Talkanco, Spacewalk, Admiration Express, Playin’It Sweet and Bonjoy just to mention a few.




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