Karrakatta rivals renew battle in Max Simmonds Stakes

The $125,000 Listed Max Simmonds Stakes, which takes pride of place at Ascot on Saturday, features the much anticipated return of the highly rated, lightly raced Aurum Belle, who has saluted in three out of her four career starts, having already powering her way up the Group 2 level.

This will be Arum Belle’s first start as a three-year-old, following on that near perfect two-year-old campaign, which saw the daughter of Snitzel kick-start her career with a debut win over 1000m … before stepping straight into feature race company and landing back-to-back wins in the Listed Supremacy Stakes over 1000m, as a $1.35 favourite, and the Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes over 1100m, as the $1.50 favourite … at that stage taking each, significant step up in class in her stride.

The Group 2 Karrakatta, in her final race as two-year-old, was to prove a bridge too far for Aurum Belle, but she still returned a quality third place finish in her first start over 1200m, behind Afireofgidgeecoals and Beatty, who both franked the Karrakatta race form by filling the first two places in the WA Sires Produce Stakes over 1400m in their next start.

Trainer Neville Parnham’s confidence in Aurum Belle has meant he has never been shy to take on quality opposition and that will again be the case on Saturday.

Like Aurum Belle, Afireofgidgeecoals will be first-up. As a Group 2 winner (in the Karrakatta) the Daniel Morton trained runner comes into the Saturday’s contest as the top weight, set to carry 59kg. That gives Aurum Belle, on 56kg, a 3kg advantage at the weights over the Karrakatta winner.

The Sean and Jake Casey trained Maria Lucia, who finished in second place in the Gimcrack, just 0.48 lengths behind Aurum Belle and who is a winner of two out of four starts, is also resuming … as is her stable companion He’s a Machino, whose best result to date was a runner-up finish in the Listed Perth Stakes behind Beatty.

Dawn Dancer, Big Red Zoom (an unbeaten debut winner) and Cos I Am (who has saluted in both of her starts to date) are all last start winners.

It could be a keen contest … or not … with the previous hype on Aurum Belle influencing the betting which suggests she could again just be too good for the opposition.

Aurum Belle, who will be partnered by Brad Parnham, who has been in the saddle in all of Aurum Belle’s race starts, is the $2.70 favourite.

Afireofgidgeecoals is next on offer at $5 with Maria Lucia at $7.50.

The rest are all at double figure odds … from $10 all the way out to $151.