It is rare to find a feature race at Belmont without a last start winner, but that is the case with the $125 000 Listed Idyllic Prince Stakes which will be contested over 1300m on Saturday.
It is not hard to find a picket-fence form-line though, with the Daniel Morton trained King Of Light being a clear standout on a couple of fronts.
Yes, like the rest of the field, he was beaten in his last start, but that was in Group 1 company in the Northerly Stakes over 1800m, a race which was won by Cosmic Crusader, who has gone on to win both the Group 3 Bletchingly and the Group 2 P B Lawrence, and a race in which The Group 1 Railway Stakes winner and runner-up … Watch Me Rock and Western Empire … finished second and third respectively.
By comparison, none of the balance of the nine strong field raced in better than Listed company in their respective last starts.
Before that Group 1 shutout in his sixth career start, which was both his first taste of elite company and his first attempt beyond 1600m, King Of Light had a perfect race record with five wins from five starts, with that winning sequence going from a debut win over 1300m as a two-year-old to a Group 2 WA Guineas win over 1600m … on the way landing two successive Listed races in the Belgravia and the Fairetha Stakes.
Willie Pike has partnered King Of Light in every one of his six starts … plus in the three trials the son of Earthlight has had since his Northerly run in preparation for this return following an eight-and-a-half month break from racing action … and Pike, fresh from his winning ride aboard Cosmic Crusader at Caulfield last Saturday, has, understandable, again given the Morton trained runner a vote of confidence.
King Of Light is unbeaten in two first-up starts, so he ticks another box.
Snowdome, Fluro Neuro and Final Siren are other runners worthy of respect.
The Grant and Alana Williams trained Snowdome has finished second in his last two starts in the HG Bolton and the Belmont Newmarket … both Listed races, both over 1200m.
Fluro Neuro, who is also trained by Team Willims, was the winner of the HG Bolton. Four runs back, he put a notable Group 3 placing on the board when finishing second to the smart Smooth Chino in the Northam Stakes. That result came over 1300m, Saturday’s big race distance. If Fluro Neuro produces the form of either of those races he could well have a say in the outcome.
Final Siren finished in third place in his last two starts in the Listed HG Bolton (behind Fluro Neuro and Snowdome) and the Belmont Newmarket (behind the impressive winner Immortal Bliss and Snowdome).
That puts the Rebecca Bayliss trained runner close enough to be worth a second glance here.
The current betting lines them up … $1.65 King Of Light, Snowdome $4.20, Fluro Neuro $6.50 and Final Siren $19. It is $23 bar four. Those comparing the best betting sites sign up offers will find King Of Light dominating the market for Saturday’s feature.
