The Dan Morton-trained King Of Light is trying to go unbeaten in his sixth start and is a dominant favorite for the 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) Ascot event at around AU$2.50 after his thrilling win at the last start in the WA Guineas (G2).
WA racing name Willie Pike was on board that day as he also rode Watch Me Rock to victory in the meeting’s feature, the Railway Stakes (G1).
Pike has chosen to ride King Of Light at 52kg in the Northerly, which is perhaps not surprising. For starters, he can manage the weight comfortably. On the other hand, while Watch Me Rock was impressive in winning the Railroad, he only carried 54 kilograms under the handicap conditions, and will have 59 kilograms when he tackles weight-for-age for the first time this Saturday.
Bookmakers have pegged the 5-year-old gelding at around AU$11 for Western Australia’s final Group 1 of the season, while proven weight-for-age performer Western Empire shares the second betting line at AU$7 with Michael Grantham’s Cosmic Crusader, a comfortable winner of the last start of Ascot’s Carbine Club Stakes.
The remarkable 8-year-old Western Empire – who ran three-quarters second in Watch Me Rock’s Railway – came second in this race as a 4-year-old in 2021, is a three-time winner in weight-for-age, from 1,400m to 1,600m, and is placed at up to 2,000m.
Watch Me Rock’s longest run was the 1,800m he will face on Saturday, for a third Grade 1 and victory in Ascot’s non-black handicap, the GF Stakes last April, by a neck in an eight-horse field.
Despite their contrasting weight-for-age history and the bookmakers’ rating, Alana Williams said she found it difficult to split Watch Me Rock and Western Empire.
While King Of Light’s conceding looked very exciting, she believes her stable’s main pair both have strong claims in the AU$1.5 million event.
“We’ve got two really good chances. I can’t really separate them,” Williams told ANZ News.
“I might lean a little towards Western Empire weight-wise, but I wouldn’t take it any further than Watch Me Rock to lift us up and show us he has more to give.
“Watch Me Rock has done beautifully since winning the Railway. Obviously he still needs to move up a level in weight for his age, but he’s a horse we’ve never really gotten through, so we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
Although he had previously won nine of 16 starts, Williams said Watch Me Rock had “gone to another level” since the addition of blinders at the start of this campaign, which also saw him win the Asian Beau Stakes (G3).
“It took him a long time to learn how to cross the line first, but once he did, he hasn’t looked back,” Williams said. “He always played and moved so easily, but once we put the blinders on him and he learned to be serious, that’s when we really learned how good he was.”
The gelding has now won 11 of 19 starts, earning nearly $1.6 million in earnings.
Western Empire will achieve a rare feat by simply participating in two editions of the Northerly four years in a row.
In 2021, looking to extend his Perth-style picket fence to seven, the then-exciting four-year-old made it difficult, racing wide under Pike from barrier nine of 10, eventually posting a brave second place by half a length.
“He’s eight years old, but you wouldn’t know it,” Williams said. “He’s an old wonder. It’s not easy for them to race at that level, but he does it year in, year out. We don’t give him too many runs, we look after him and he seems to be doing well.”
Western Empire, originally owned by WA mega-breeder Bob Peters, has won 11 of his 33 starts, for $3.3 million. He is now ridden by a syndicate of three led by Alana Williams, which comes after the stable split from Peters’ private trainers and went public in early 2022.
Watch Me Rock’s win over the railroad marked the husband-and-wife operation’s first success as public trainers. Williams said it would be “a dream” to take a second this Saturday.
“It would obviously be huge,” she said. “Group 1 is what we’re chasing. We want to race at this level. Winning our first in the Railroad meant a lot to us, and if we can pick another one it would be a huge bonus.”
The Williams stable will also have a third Northerly runner Hemlock Stone. The 6-year-old, who will be ridden by Austin Galati, is a longshot at AU$51 as he seeks back-to-back titles in the Perth Cup (G2) on January 1.
“He should still run a brutal race,” Williams said of the “quirky” gelding. “It may be a bit beyond him to win, but I have learned with this horse to never say never, because he continues to surprise us.”
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