3 minute read

The Pinnacles gets underway at Ascot this Saturday as we preview the Group 3 Champion Fillies Stakes.

Always a great race, the Group 3 Champion Fillies Stakes (1600m) has a very strong honour roll, and is often a very good pointer to the Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m) in a few weeks' time.

Amelia's Jewel didn't run in the Champion Fillies, opting to take on and beat the boys in the Group 2 W.A. Guineas before winning The Northerly, but star filly Arcadia Queen did the double while also winning the Guineas, as did Perfect Reflection.

Looking at the past ten years of Timeform data, we see that Arcadia Queen's dominant win in 2018 tops the list as the best Champion Fillies winner, running to a rating of 109. She would then run 112 in the Guineas and a whopping 121 in the then Kingston Town Classic.

As usual, the key lead up is the Listed Burgess Queen Stakes (1400m), this year won by London's Image who isn't here. The placegetters from that race sit 1-2 in the market this year and rightly so.

Ron's Finalflutter has improved with every start to date, making a big leap in Timeform ratings in the Burgess Queen, having run to 77 winning a Bunbury maiden fresh, 79 in a Class 3 at Ascot and then 94 last start when closing into second.

She just edged out Flower Of Gold for second in the Burgess Queen with that filly rated 83+ and 87+ in her two starts prior, her sectionals indicating she could've rated higher had she been ridden more efficiently.

Again in the Burgess Queen, Flower Of Gold was finishing fast, and taking into account her late splits, plus the fact that she was held up and had to dart back to the inside, there's a fair case she should've won the race.

Of the horses through that race, she looks the one crying out for 1600m now and looks the horse to beat. She's a narrow favourite over Ron's Finalflutter but if anything the gap could be a bit further between them.

The others from the Burgess Queen have the task ahead to turn the tables on that pair given how quickly they were finishing, but the one that does have a comparable Timeform rating is Earthstorm.

She's still a maiden after seven starts but has run some good races, including a (distant) second to star two-year-old Bustling in the Group 2 Karrakatta Plate (1200m). She was well back and very wide in the Burgess Queen and hit the line fairly for seventh. Don't be surprised if she runs a better race here out to a mile, while Storyville was a similar story when too far back. Pike sticks with Storyville for the Williams camp and she draws much better.

I think the run of the race in the Burgess Queen was Flower Of Gold. She had the Timeform ratings behind her prior that suggested she was a filly with plenty of ability and she was unlucky not to have won that race. Out to 1600m looks perfect from a good draw and she can atone on Saturday.

Champion Fillies Stakes

Tip: #4 Flower Of Gold at $3.60 with TABtouch

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