Perth Cup winner Casino Seventeen will look for more feature race success when he kicks off his autumn campaign in this weekend’s Listed Detonator Stakes (1800m) at Ascot.
The Grant and Alana Williams-trained gelding won a thrilling edition of the Perth Cup on New Year’s Day, where he held off a fast finishing Be Optimistic.
He enters Saturday’s Listed feature without a trial and Grant Williams said that wouldn’t be a concern.
“He’s going quite good,” Williams told TABradio.
“He hasn’t had a trial or anything, but these horses have big tickers and a really good set of lungs.
“He galloped yesterday and his heart rate was low.
“He’s got into this race pretty well on the weights.
“It’s not his grand final but he will run a really good race.”
Casino Seventeen took all before him last autumn, winning two ratings races before he completed the Pinjarra Cup (2300m) and South West Autumn Cup (2200m) in the space of seven days.
He was a model of consistency in his recent spring and summer campaign, with placings in the Northam Cup (1600m), A.J. Scahill Cup (2100m) and Ted Van Heemst Stakes (2100m) on his way to Perth Cup success.
Jarrad Noske, who rode the six-year-old in the Ted Van Heemst Stakes, replaces the injured William Pike in the saddle for Saturday’s $125,000 event.
Williams said Casino Seventeen would likely be aimed at races like the Bunbury and Pinjarra Cups, despite likely having to carry big weights.
“We will probably go to those races,” he said.
“He’s going to get a heap of weight.
“Although he won the Perth Cup, when you go back and look at his form, he had about 12 starts last campaign and I still don’t think he was in the form he was when he won those races last year.
“We were lucky to get over the line in the Cup.”
Williams indicated Casino Seventeen could head to Melbourne for staying feature races later this year.
Marocchino is a $2.60 TABtouch favourite for the Detonator Stakes, while Casino Seventeen is on the second line of betting at $4.40.
Tim Walker
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