Ihtsahymn has produced a career best effort to take out the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic at Ascot last Saturday.
Ihtsahymn had always shown class against his own age however taking on the older horses meant the Fred Kersley-trained gelding would need to reach a new level in the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic.
The Kingston Town Classic on paper looked made to order for Luckygray fresh off a Railway Stakes success the start prior.
Meeting a number of the same rivals on better weight terms, it was understandable why Luckygray was sent out favourite to claim the Railway Stakes/Kingston Town Classic double last Saturday.
It wasn’t to be though as an ideal run in transit afforded to Ihtsahymn helped him claim a maiden Group 1 victory.
From an inside barrier, jockey Steven Parnham was able to have Ihtsahymn positioned ideally in fourth spot, one off the fence.
Already looming large upon straightening, Ihtsahymn hit the lead at the 300m and held off a late challenge from Luckygray to take out the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic.
Rohan finished third and 2011 Kingston Town winner Playing God fourth.
Ihtsahymn’s winning display against the older horses yielded him a new master Timeform rating of 115, ten pounds superior to his prior peak achieved when taking out the WA Guineas (1600m).
He continued the strong record three-year-olds possess in the event, becoming the seventh since 1990 to claim the Kingston Town Classic and the sixth to claim the WA Guineas - Kingston Town double.
The performance sits below the previous five year winning average of the event, albeit only marginally with some particularly strong renewals having been conducted during that period.
Luckygray claimed the event in 2012 with an effort assessed at 118 while Sniper’s Bullet and Niconero possess the equal highest winning figure of the event since 1989.
Niconero and Sniper’s Bullet each ran to 121 during their successes in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Trainer Fred Kersley is unsure what lies in store for Ihtsahymn however venturing east to Melbourne or Sydney appears unlikely this season.
The WA Derby (2400m) in April shapes as the most realistic goal with Kersley convinced Ihtsahymn is on track to be a top shelf stayer.
