Melbourne Spring Carnival Group 1 winner  Gatting will carry the number one saddlecloth in the Group 1 $1m Kirin Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot in Perth on Saturday.

Gatting, above, will carry the number 1 saddlecloth in the 2019 Railway Stakes at Ascot in Perth. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Gatting, above, will carry the number 1 saddlecloth in the 2019 Railway Stakes at Ascot in Perth. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Sixteen final acceptors make up the final field for the Railway Stakes, the first Group 1 feature of the 2019 Ascot Racing Carnival.

Gatting scored an upset win at $101 in the Group 1 $750,000 PFD Food Services Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 14 and is one of two Railway Stakes runners for prominent Western Australian trainer Darren Mcauliffe.

Mcauliffe will also saddle up The Velvet King who was a winner two starts back in the Group 3 $150,000 Northerly Stakes (1400m) at Ascot in Perth on October 19 before finishing third behind Star Exhibit and Gatting in the Group 2 $250,000 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) at Ascot in Perth on November 9.

Last start Flemington winner Reykjavik gets his chance to compete at Group 1 level in the Railway Stakes after winning the Group 3 $200,000 Network 110 Chatham Stakes (1400m) on November 9 and is one of two runners for Western Australian trainer Lindsey Smith who will also saddle up restricted class galloper Tamasa.

Chatham Stakes winning jockey Dean Yendall has retained the ride on Reykjavik who has pleased Smith since his Flemington win.

“Dean will ride Reykjavik in the Railway,” Smith told The West Australian.

“The horse shows peak form with Dean aboard.

“Reykjavik has thrived since Flemington and can run a big race on Saturday.”

The Velvet King has been installed as the $6.50 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au after the final field for the Railway Stakes was released on Monday while Gatting and Reykjavik are both marked at $12.

The barriers for the 2019 Railway Stakes will be drawn on Tuesday evening at 7.30 AEDT live on Sky Thoroughbred Central.

Betting for the 2019 Railway Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $6.50 The Velvet King, $7 Tellem We’re Comin, $8 Regal Power, Samizdat, $9 Best Of Days, $10 Achernar Star, $12 Gatting, Reykjavik, $14 Star Exhibit, $15 Perfect Jewel, $17 Variation, $26 Monolo Blahniq, $31 Mizlecki, $34 Tamasa, $41 Platoon, $51 Cockney Crew.

Final field for the 2019 Railway Stakes (1600m)

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Weight Hcp Rating
1 x512251502 GATTING Darren Mcauliffe 58kg 112
2 x5Nx738035 BEST OF DAYS (GB) James Cummings Brad Rawiller 57kg 110
3 77051145×1 STAR EXHIBIT Adam Durrant Peter Hall 56.5kg 109
4 09x211x524 ACHERNAR STAR Simon A Miller Damien Oliver 55.5kg 107
5 1653138×71 REYKJAVIK Lindsey Smith Dean Yendall 53kg 102
6 x21412x213 THE VELVET KING Darren Mcauliffe 53kg 102
7 13x723x411 TELLEM WE’RE COMIN Grant & Alana Williams Brenton Avdulla 53kg 99
8 34x523x272 VARIATION Stephen Miller Brad Parnham 53kg 99
9 4187445×55 MIZLECKI Fred Kersley 53kg 94
10 x684830x93 PERFECT JEWEL Adam Durrant Ms Jade McNaught (a) 53kg 92
11 72240×9245 MANOLO BLAHNIQ (NZ) Tony Noonan 53kg 95
12 32321211×2 REGAL POWER Grant & Alana Williams William Pike 53kg 94
13 x13x11x651 SAMIZDAT Chris Gangemi Jarrad Noske 53kg 91
14 x71422x121 COCKNEY CREW Kieran McDonagh 53kg 87
15 x05138x112 PLATOON Neville Parnham Steven Parnham 53kg 82
16 22111×5453 TAMASA Lindsey Smith Peter Knuckey 53kg 82

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.