| What | Challenge Stakes Day |
| Where | Ascot Racecourse – 71 Grandstand Rd, Ascot WA 6104 |
| When | Saturday, February 11, 2023 |
| First Race | 12:28pm AWST |
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Ascot Racecourse will host a very competitive nice-race program this Saturday, highlighted by the Listed Challenge Stakes and Listed Cyril Flower Stakes. After extreme heat caused a lot of drama and the postponement of last Saturday’s meeting, we should see a great day of racing under much more comfortable conditions this weekend. The track is currently rated a Good 4 and we don’t expect to be racing on anything worse than that with no rain on the forecast for Friday and Saturday. The rail will be pushed out to the +3m position for the entire circuit and the first race will jump at 12:28pm AWST.
Challenge Stakes Tip: Admiration Express
The first of the feature events on Saturday at Ascot will be the Listed Challenge Stakes, where we will be siding with the very smart filly from the Jason Miller stable, Admiration Express. This three-year-old filly has finished in the placings at three of her first four career starts, including that very strong win in the Group 3 WA Champion Fillies Stakes on November 12 before going out for a spell. This daughter of My Admiration has a second-place finish behind the very smart My Bella Mae and she beat the highly touted Laced Up Heels in that WA Champion Fillies Stakes, so her form lines are as strong as any in this race. Miller and his team have prepared their star filly well for this race first-up, giving her two nice trials over 950m and 1450m, with the second of those trials resulting in a dominant five length win under very little riding. Lucy Warwick rode this girl at her last start victory, and both of those trials, therefore, we see no reason to not be with this filly on Saturday.
Challenge Stakes
Race 8 – 
#3 Admiration Express (6)
3yo Filly | T: Jason Miller | J: Lucy Warwick (57kg)
$3.50 with Unibet
Cyril Flower Stakes Tip: My Bella Mae
The second of the features will be the Listed Cyril Flower Stakes and we will be siding with the Placid Ark Stakes winner from November last year, My Bella Mae. The Dion Luciani-trained filly ended her first preparation with her first career defeat, finishing ninth in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes before going out for two-month spell. Now back for her second campaign, this daughter of Deep Field returned to winning ways in fine style first-up over 1100m at Ascot on January 28, recording an easy 1.3-length victory in a small field. Luciani has chosen to take on the older horses second-up and will be the only three-year-old in the race on Saturday, but with the benefit of her first-up run, she should be at peak fitness and should be very hard to beat. With the likes of Sniparoochy, Phanta and Carocapo expected to set a hot tempo out in front, it should set the race up for a swooper with a big turn of foot, which is exactly what this filly possesses.
Cyril Flower Stakes
Race 8 – 
#8 My Bella Mae (3)
3yo FIlly | T: Dion Luciani | J: Patrick Carbery (54kg)
$2.90 with Betfair
Best Bet at Ascot: Auspicious
We won’t have to wait long for our best bet of the program, with the Simon Miller-trained Auspicious going to the races for the very first time in race one. This unraced filly has been burning up the track at the trials, with both of her trials showing her ability and quality that her owners paid for when they purchased her for $110,000 at the sales in 2020. At her first trial she won by a massive 16 lengths over 400m, where she sustained a blistering speed and was throttled down late, while her second trial saw her win by just over four lengths over 950m. This daughter of I Am Invincible looks to be a very smart filly and clearly has a lot of speed, so we expect to see Brad Parnham to cross the field from barrier 10 and then give them something to chase. Parnham rode this filly at both of those outstanding trials, and he will know that he has to keep her happy. If he does that, she should be winning on debut and push on to bigger and better races.
Best Bet
Race 5 – 
#8 Auspicious (10)
2yo Filly | T: Simon Miller | J: Brad Parnham (55kg)
$2.20 with Bet365
Next Best Bet: Gage Roads
The first leg of the quaddie will see two three-year-olds take on the older horses in the One Metro Win Handicap over 1600m. We will be siding with the three-year-old gelding Gage Roads from the Grant & Alana Williams yard, who is dropping back in grade after finishing third in the Listed WA Breeders Classic over 1400m at Pinjarra on January 29. This son of Gold Standard has only finished out of the placings once in his career, recording two wins in his first five career starts. At his most recent start in the WA Breeders Classic, this gelding didn’t get a lot of luck as he was shuffled to the back of the field on the home turn and had to follow the eventual winner through a gap, and by the time he hit top speed the winner and runner-up were off and gone with the prize. From barrier four on Saturday, Paul Harvey should be able to settle in the one-one position and stalk the leaders to the home corner. As the field rounds the home turn, Harvey will look to peel off their heels and then prove too strong in the concluding stages of the 1600m event.
Next Best Bet
Race 6 – 
#10 Gage Roads (4)
3yo Gelding | T: Grant & Alana Williams | J: Paul Harvey (56kg)
$3 with Neds
Best Value: Pink Carats
There is no doubt that Pink Carats has struggled to find the winners circle of late when you consider that she hasn’t won since January 29 of 2022. However, this five-year-old mare looked to have returned to some form running a nice fourth in behind the very smart Metallon, where she didn’t get a lot of room before the final 200m of the 1000m event on January 28 at Ascot. The Simon Miller-trained mare has only raced at the 1200m once in her career, where she finished third, but after finishing off so strong at her most recent start, Miller and his team have chosen to take on the 1200m again on Saturday. Patrick Carbery has ridden her for the majority of her career and with him taking the ride, it tells us that she is still going well. From barrier one, Carbery will look to hold the box seat on the rail and then give her a chance to peel off the leaders heels and let down like she did last start. If she gets the luck and finishes much like she did previously, she will be right in the finish.
Best Value
Race 5 – 
#8 Pink Carats (1)
5yo Mare | T: Simon Miller | J: Patrick Carbery (54kg)
$9 with Ladbrokes
Saturday quaddie tips for Challenge Stakes Day
Ascot quadrella selections
Saturday, February 11, 2023
- 1-10-13
- 1-2-3
- 3-8-9
- 2-3-6-9
Investment: $108 for 100%
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