| What | Northerly Stakes Day |
| Where | Ascot Racecourse – 71 Grandstand Rd, Ascot WA 6104 |
| When | Saturday, December 9, 2023 |
| First Race | 12:05pm AWST |
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Visit Dabble |
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The Group 1 Northerly Stakes will headline a nine-race card at Ascot Racecourse this weekend on the fourth day of The Pinnacles. With warm and dry conditions forecast on Friday and Saturday, the track is expected to stay at the current Good 4 rating for the whole raceday. The rail will be moved from +8m to the +2m position for the entire circuit, and the first race will jump at 12:05pm AWST.
G.A. Towton Cup Tip: Queen Alina
Queen Alina will be seeking her first win in just under a year when she steps out in the Listed G.A. Towton Cup fourth-up over 2200m. The Daniel & Ben Pearce-trained galloper has run on well from the back of the field in all three of her starts this time in, finishing fourth and third in her last two. The daughter of Mahuta has drawn well to settle off the rail, just worse than midfield in a small field, meaning she shouldn’t be too far off the leaders when turning into the home straight. If Chris Parnham can navigate a clear run from the turn, Queen Alina will be running home strong.
G.A. Towton Cup
Race 4 – 
#8 Queen Alina (5)
5yo Mare | T: Daniel & Ben Pearce | J: Chris Parnham (54kg)
+300 with Picklebet
Best Bet at Ascot: Starry Heights
William Pike gave Starry Heights a peach of a ride to overcome trouble and sprint away with an arrogant victory first-up. Grant & Alana Williams chose to kick off the preparation over 1400m, and after such an impressive display, the son of Star Turn has won five straight and appears to be in for another big campaign. With Pike sticking as Starry Heights steps up to a more suitable 1600m second-up, this guy will be very hard to beat again.
Best Bet
Race 9 – 
#6 Starry Heights (5)
4yo Gelding | T: Grant & Alana Williams | J: William Pike (58kg)
+100 with Neds
Next Best at Ascot: Hanchi
Hanchi has been running in the top three-year-old races in his first two starts back, running second behind Oscar’s Fortune in the Placid Ark Prelude and fifth behind Ripcord in the Listed Placid Ark Stakes. The Sean & Jake Casey-trained galloper will drop back in grade and take on the older horses in a Benchmark 72+ third-up and is drawn to do no work from barrier one. The son of Squamosa should be able to settle behind the leaders in the box seat, and if he gets clear air in the home straight, Hanchi will play a prominent role in the finish.
Next Best
Race 7 – 
#10 Hanchi (1)
3yo Gelding | T: Sean & Jake Casey | J: Chris Parnham (55kg)
+240 with Boombet
Best Value at Ascot: Celebrity Prince
Celebrity Prince will be hoping to snap a six-start losing streak that includes three runner-up finishes. This son of Xtravagant has lost by a combined 0.8 lengths over his last two starts, but with more speed expected in this race, Brayden Gaerth should be able to cross and settle midfield from barrier 13. Gaerth will need to make his move before the 400m mark, and if he is within four lengths of the leaders with 300m to go, Celebrity Prince will go very close.
Best Value
Race 6 – 
#3 Celebrity Prince (13)
4yo Gelding | T: Takahide Ikenushi | J: Brayden Gaerth (a3) (58.5kg)
+700 with Dabble
Saturday quaddie tips for Northerly Stakes Day
Ascot quadrella selections
Saturday, December 9, 2023
- 1-3-5-13
- 3-10-12
- 1-5-11-15-16
- 5-6
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