Although he failed to meet expectations during his Autumn and Spring campaigns in Melbourne the former star of the West Luckygray returns home and shapes up as the best bet of the day at Ascot on Saturday.
In six starts in Victoria Luckygray failed to feature in the finish however more than half of those efforts were in unsuitable races given he was weighted out of the Newmarket, was never a hope behind Black Caviar in the William Reid, was always going to struggle behind Atlantic Jewel in the Memsie Stakes and was ridden upside down last start in the Toorak.
His performance two back behind Rebel Dane in the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes was enormous and a repeat of anywhere near that performance would see him very hard to beat on Saturday.
Forced to take on some of the best horses in Australia in recent outings he will no doubt appreciate the drop back in grade on Saturday lining up against the likes of Playing God, Kerrific and Conservatorium.
On Timeform ratings he sits six pounds clear of his nearest rival and given he has placed in 10 of his 12 starts at this track he is clearly the horse to beat.
Early markets have him close to a 2-1 chance which seems more than generous as he in fact won this race last year by two lengths as an odds-on shot and while on face value he appears to be in worse form ratings tell another story.
At his best we have rated closer to an even-money shot and will gladly take the price on offer on Saturday.
The Grant Williams trained Celebrity Miss resumed with a gallant performance at this track last start and appears well placed to go on with the job on Saturday.
While she obviously takes on the likes of the unbeaten Takanori we do have a knock on her form at this point in time as no horse has come out of her last start victory and won since.
We feel the form behind Smoko and Accrual are the right formlines moving forward and given Celebrity Miss will strip fitter second up we expect her to take plenty of beating.
William Pike has been riding in great form this season and the fact he sticks aboard Celebrity Miss on Saturday rather than riding the current favourite Takanori is a solid push for her chances.
With 4-1 currently being bet across the boards it does seem a more than fair gamble and we expect her to start a lot shorter come raceday.
No knock on her last start victory but the Grant Willaims trained Angel Of Mercy has to be some query at her first attempt beyond a mile.
She lines up against a few handy staying prospects on Saturday and given she jumps from barrier 15 we are more than happy to take her on.
BEST FROM THE WEST:
BANKER: Race 6 #1 Luckygray @ $2.90
PLAY OF THE DAY: Race 4 #7 Celebrity Miss @ $5.00
LAY OF THE DAY: Race 5 #3 Angel Of Mercy @ $2.60
