The excitement of the Spring carnival came to a close at Sandown on the weekend with the focus now shifting West.
While many will only tune into Perth racing for two weeks of the year, Saturday's meeting at Ascot was a bottler and produced a few runners capable of making their presence felt in the coming weeks.
Held over three weekends, the Railway Stakes and WA Guineas kick off proceedings this Saturday, before the Winterbottom Stakes and Kingston Town Classic round out the carnival.
The WA Champion Fillies Stakes [1600m] was one of the key highlights on Saturday and could be a strong pointer towards this weekend's WA Guineas [1600m].In what has proven a key form race over the years, the Dan Morton trained Samovare stamped herself as a serious prospect when digging deep to hold off her rivals in the feature event.
Following a similar path to last season's champion filly Perfect Reflection, Samovare is unlikely to back-up in the Guineas with the Kingston Town Classic her next target.Samovare's performance on Saturday saw her return a Timeform rating of 103, two pounds shy of the mark recorded by Perfect Reflection last year.
Second placegetter Ellicazoom had no luck early and many will be happy to argue she should have won, none more so than jockey Steven Parnham.
The Dan Morton trained Saul's Special appears the leading contender at this stage and would have been set for the Guineas the day he finished second behind Whispering Brook in the Sires' Produce Stakes.
Saul's Special still has a bit up his sleeve based on his best form as a two-year-old and has notably been building nicely this preparation — he remains the one to beat.The Team Williams trained State Solicitor only won narrowly on Saturday, however there was a lot more merit to his performance than first meets the eye.
Successful in notching up his seventh straight win, State Solicitor did just enough to keep favourite punters on side, however given the race shape, he was in truth very good.Unsuited by the slow early tempo, State Solicitor was also caught three deep from the wide alley, with Hall unable to slot in.
Settled towards the rear, State Solicitor was pulled the widest on straightening and while wanting to lay in, he still proved too sharp.A key sectional star, State Solicitor's performance further highlighted his talent.
When looking at a race within a race, State Solicitor beat home stablemate King River (2-1) by four lengths — worth noting given the two were positioned next to each other passing the 600m.
Although yet to be tested against decent opposition, State Solicitor has given all the right indications that he can be competitive at the highest level — time will tell.Four-year-old Scales Of Justice booked his ticket for the Railway Stakes when justifying his solid market support in the Group 3 R.J. Peters Stakes [1500m].
A winner of six of his 12 starts, Scales Of Justice is yet to miss the money and proceeded to take a good step forward.In what was a dominant on-speed performance, Scales Of Justice certainly showed his hand and confirmed there is a fair bit under the hood.
Scales Of Justice returned a Timeform rating of 108, a pound above the five year winning average and nine pounds above his previous best.In what was his strongest performance against the clock, he appears right on track to make his presence felt down in the weights on Saturday.
Fellow star four-year-old Vega Magic confirmed himself as one of the best sprinters in WA when holding off the fast finishing Rock Magic in the Group 3 Colonel Reeve Stakes.Having had no luck first up, jockey Jake Casey was not going to leave it to chance, hunting up Vega Magic to settle just off the speed in third.
Enjoying the strong-tempo set by Military Reign, Vega Magic travelled strongly on straightening and exploded away from his rivals inside the 200m.The much in-form Rock Magic launched late down the outside but was unable to reel in his rival.
Whether they can beat the likes of either Malaguerra or Terravista seems unlikely however based on their recent performances they both project as strong place chances.
