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Group One winner Perfect Reflection heads the field for Saturday’s $500,000 Perth Cup after owner Bob Peters agreed to let the mare run under the topweight of 59kg.
“I changed my mind three or four times a day but she’s well and I can’t find a reason not to run her,” Peters said after deciding Perfect Reflection would lead his team of four runners in the 2400m feature at Ascot.
The four-year-old mare was a brilliant last-start winner of the G2 Ted van Heemst Stakes (2100m) at Ascot after finishing third in the G1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and G1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m).She won the Kingston Town Stakes last year as a 3YO filly and now bids to join Delicacy, another top class mare owned by Bob and Sandra Peters as a Perth Cup winner under 59kg. Delicacy carried the same weight to win the Perth Cup last year.
Perfect Reflection is trained by Grant and Alana Williams. They also train another of the Peters-owned Perth Cup starters Neverland while the other two runners for Perth’s leading owners – Dark Alert and Star Exhibit are trained by Geoff Durrant and Jason Miller.Perth’s champion jockey will retain the mount on Perfect Reflection, who boasts seven wins from 12 starts and stakes in excess of $1.3 million.
Durrant and Miller will saddle five of the 15 final acceptors with their team led by pre-post favourite Kia Ora Koutou. They wil also start The Forgotten One and Tick Tick Boom.Jarrad Noske rides last Saturday’s ATA Stakes winner Star Exhibit, Glenn Smith rides Neverland, Peter Hall is booked for Dark Alert and Joseph Azzopardi has the mount on Kia Ora Koutou, the last start winner of the Japan Racing Association Trophy at Ascot on December 10.
The three Parnham brothers all have rides in the Perth Cup.Trainer Fred Kersley has booked Chris Parnham for Respondent and Steven Parnham will ride his stablemate Ihtsahymn.
Brad Parnham will ride Zarantz for trainer Simon Miller.$500,000 PERTH CUP (2400m)
Run Saturday; Group 1
1. PERFECT REFLECTION 59.0 WILLIAM PIKE/GRANT & ALANA WILLIAMS
2. IHTSAHYMN 56.0 STEVEN PARNHAM/FRED KERSLEY
3. COUGAR EXPRESS 54.0 RANDY TAN/LINDSEY SMITH
4. DARK ALERT 54.0 PETER HALL/GEOFF DURRANT & JASON MILLER
5. DARK MUSKET 54.0 JASON WHITING/GRAEME BALLANTYNE
6. DUBAI ESCAPADE 54.0 LUCY WARWICK/JUSTIN WARWICK
7. FATHOMS OF GOLD 54.0 MATTHIEU AUTIER/ROBYNE MARTIN
8. KIA ORA KOUTOU 54.0 JOSEPH AZZOPARDI/GEOFF DURRANT & JASON MILLER
9. NEVERLAND 54.0 GLENN SMITH/GRANT & ALANA WILLIAMS
10. RESPONDENT 54.0 CHRIS PARNHAM/FRED KERSLEY
11. STAR EXHIBIT 54.0 JARRAD NOSKE/GEOFF DURRANT & JASON MILLER
12. THE FORGOTTEN ONE 54.0 BEN PATERSON/GEOFF DURRANT & JASON MILLER
13. TICK TICK BLOOM 54.0 PATRICK CARBERY/GEOFF DURRANT & JASON MILLER
14. TRADESMAN 54.0 TROY TURNER/ROBERT & TODD HARVEY
15. ZARANTZ 54.0 BRAD PARNHAM/SIMON A. MILLER
