It's day three of The Pinnacles and that means it's time to shine the light on the sprinters with the running of the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m).
Run under Weight For Age conditions over the Ascot 1200m, the state's best sprinters tackle some the east's best in what always makes for a thrilling contest.
Despite the Perth contingent desperate to fly their state's flag high, it has proven a mighty challenge with 10 of the previous 15 winners coming from interstate: including last year's victor Paulele.
For this week's edition of Pinnacles Pointers, we look at the history of the $1.5 million sprint feature and use Racing & Sports' advanced ratings system to try and find a winner.
Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) - $1.5 million
| Last Year's Winner & Rating | Paulele - 121 |
| 5yr Avg Winning Rating | 119 |
| Best Winner & Rating (Since 2000) | Takeover Target (2008) - 126 |
The table above shows that last year's victor Paulele as an above average winner of the Winterbottom Stakes, two pounds above the five year average but still several lengths off champion sprinter and 2008 winner Takeover Target.
In what is clearly the best edtion of the race, the 2008 Winterbottom Stakes played stage to one of the great clashes of modern elite sprinters, where the Perth faithful saw Takeover Target defeat Apache Cat (126) by a nose.
Other honourable mentions inlcude Buffering (2013) and Hey Doc (2019) with a shared rating of 122, both cult heros and terrific equine athletes.
Running an eye over this year's field and with the five year average winning rating sitting a tick under 120, there is only one horse that fits the mold and that is Overpass (122).
Bjorn Baker's stable superstar has been a model of consistency over the last two years, only dropping below 110 three times in his last 15 starts, a figure that only a small minority of his rivals have bettered.
After taking out the inaggural editon of The Quokka earlier this year with a rating 119 to knock of Perth's pin-up filly Amelia's Jewel, Overpass returned east and posted consecutive 122 ratings, with narrow defeats in the G1 Doomben 10,000 (Giga Kick - 0.5L) and G2 The Shorts (Private Eye - 0.2L).
Clearly shouldering the best form, Overpass has been holding his own against the country's top line sprinters for quite some time and it won't take antyhing out of the ordinary for him to keep his undefeated record over the Ascot 1200m in tact, and secure his maiden Group 1 victory.
