Ladbrokes Tip: The Railway Stakes – Kingston Town Classic is a popular Perth double in the summer

The Kingston Town Classic is the third and final Group 1 race contested at Western Australia’s Ascot Racecourse during the annual Perth Summer Racing Carnival.

Run two weeks after the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and week following the sprinter’s doing battle in the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m), the weight-for-age Kingston Town Classic takes place on a Saturday in early December and is contested over 1800m. Offering $1 million in prize money it is the traditional target for graduates of the Railway Stakes and the last horse to complete the double in the same season was Sniper’s Bullet (2009).

In 2012 the previous year’s Railway Stakes winner Luckgray (2011) won the Kingston Town Classic. More recently, the 2018 Railway Stakes champ Galaxy Star backed-up with a third in the Kingston Town Classic trifecta next start.

The Kingston Town Classic is named after Australian Racing Hall of Fame racehorse Kingston Town who was a triple Cox Plate winner (1980-82) among other accolades.

The latest edition of the Kingston Town Classic ran on Saturday December 5, 2020 and was won in an upset by Truly Great. 

2020 Kingston Town Classic Results

The full Kingston Town Classic 2020 Results & Finishing Order will be available below after the Group 1 is run and won on Saturday December 5, 2020 .

• 1st: #11 Truly Great
• 2nd: #12 Inspirational Girl
• 3rd: #15 Dom To Shoot

Jockey Chris Parnham celebrated his first Group 1 success thanks to a powerhouse performance aboard Truly Great ($18) to score an upset in the 2020 Kingston Town Classic results. The final Group 1 race of the year in Australia went the way of the Grant & Alana Williams-trained five-year-old who beat home his Railway Stakes winning stablemate Inspirational Girl ($2.10F) by nearly two lengths. 

Kingston Town Classic Race Info

• Date: Saturday December 5, 2020
• Track: Ascot Racecourse
• Distance: 1800m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $1 million
• First Run: 1976

Kingston Town Classic Odds & Betting

Kingston Town Classic odds are led by the best performing horses coming out of the Railway Stakes run over 200m shorter under handicap conditions a fortnight before. Proven weight-for-age horses with winning form over the 1800m at Ascot also feature highly in the Kingston Town Classic betting markets each summer.

Last start winners have an excellent record in the race over the past decade, and a lead-up win in Perth in a race like the Railway Stakes usually ensures favouritism in the Kingston Town Classic odds.

Favourites have a strong winning strike rate over the past decade or so with seven winners from 2007 – 2020. The two most recent Kingston Town Classic favourites to salute for the punters were both fillies: Perfect Reflection (2015) and Arcadia Queen (2018). A third filly won the Kingston Town Classic in 2019 with Kay Cee saluting at $11.

After Perfect Reflection however there were two roughies in Kingston Town Classic betting that won with Stratum Star (2016) and Pounamu (2017) both at double-figures.

There was also an upset in 2020 when $18 shot Truly Great beat home his short-priced stablemate Inspirational Girl ($2.10F). 

2020 Kingston Town Classic Betting

The season’s top Kingston Town Classic 2020 odds and Perth Group 1 betting market links will be provided below so stay tuned for access to the best summer prices.

Kingston Town Classic Tips

Kingston Town Classic tips include taking last start winners at the Ascot track, the in-form three-year-old gallopers of the season as the youngsters have a good record in the race and opting for form over barriers.

Other tips include following the favourite as the top fancies have plenty of recent wins, and avoiding any interstate visitors that haven’t had a previous Perth run as Stratum Star (2016) was the first Kingston Town Classic winner to come off a non-WA lead-up since Credit Account back in 1993.

2020 Kingston Town Classic Tips

Our Ladbrokes’ exclusive Kingston Town Classic 2020 betting tips and exotic summer racing selections will be detailed below the week of the race so stay tuned for the Perth locals and interstate raiders to get behind this season.

• To Win: #16 Watch Me Dance ($10 at time of publish) 

No doubt the Railway Stakes winner and short-priced favourite Inspirational Girl ($2.20) will take some beating, but the double hasn’t been done in over a decade and she has the wide alley (18) and rise in weight to overcome. That opens up a bit of value and love the double-figures on offer for this flying filly who chases a third win on the trot, gets in on just 50kg and has drawn ideally in barrier 5. She comes off the WA Champion Fillies – Guineas double and now takes on the older horses at WFA presenting rock hard fit and a definite overlooked danger. 

Kingston Town Classic Field

The Kingston Town Classic field attracts the season’s best milers – stayers with the line-up mainly attracting locally trained Perth gallopers. The Railway Stakes over the mile at the same track two weeks earlier is the key lead-up race into the Kingston Town Classic field and provides the majority of runners in the latter.

Upset Kingston Town Classic winner Stratum Star (2016) was the first champ of the Perth Group 1 to come off a non-Ascot lead-up race since 1993. Photo Credit: Ultimate Racing Photos.

The latest interstate raiders to beat the locals home for the Kingston Town Classic win were the Chris Waller-trained Moriarty (2014) and the Darren Weir-trained Statum Star (2016).

The Kingston Town Classic field has a capacity of 16 starters and was run at capacity in 2015 when Perfect Reflection became the first three-year-old filly in history to win.

Three years later Arcadia Queen became the second Kingston Town Classic winning filly to salute beating 13 rivals in the million dollar feature.

In 2019 the Kingston Town Classic field again ran at the full 16 starters when Playing God filly Kay Cee became the third filly in history to win.

The smallest field for the race in the past 30 plus years was 10 starters when Old Nick overcame the outside barrier to win in 1998.

Kingston Town Classic nominations close over a month before the race in late October before the final field of acceptances is released the Monday of race week.

2020 Kingston Town Classic Field

The official Kingston Town Classic 2020 Final Field is announced by Perth Racing the Monday leading-up to the race and will be available in full below as soon as released so stay tuned to see what gallopers make the starting line-up in the final Group 1 race of the year in Australia.

The 2020 Kingston Town Classic field features a capacity line-up of Group 1 hopefuls including the quinella out of the Railway Stakes with Inspirational Girl chasing the double and Too Close The Sun looking to turn the tables at weight-for-age. 

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2020 Kingston Town Classic Nominations

The early Kingston Town Classic 2020 nominations are taken around a month before Kingston Town Classic Day in December, the full entries to be released below.

The 2020 Kingston Town Classic nominations drew a bumper 114 hopefuls including the reigning champion Kay Cee who is out to emulate her sire Playing God (2010-11) in winning successive editions of the weight-for-age feature. 

Kingston Town Classic Form Guide

The Kingston Town Classic form guide details all the crucial information for punters like the jockeys, trainers, barriers and lead-up runs of the horses in the field.

History shows an even spread of winners from both inside and wider barrier draws, so doing the Kingston Town Classic form on the lead-up runs and track / distance records of the horses over their gate is important.

Three-year-olds have a good record in the race with six wins in the past decade, including three fillies with Perfect Reflection (2015), Arcadia Queen (2018) and Kay Cee (2019).

The Railway Stakes is the best guide and so looking for horses coming off a run in this mile lead-up is also important.

Kingston Town Classic Form Facts

• The Railway Stakes has produced more Kingston Town Classic winners than any other lead-ups
• A final run at Ascot is the key to picking the Kingston Town Classic winner with just one horse since 1993 having come off a lead-up outside of WA
• Three-year-olds boast five wins – including three by fillies – in the Kingston Town Classic results from 2010 – 2020 so in-form youngsters make a good tip
• Favourites in Kingston Town Classic betting have saluted six times from 2008 – 2020

2020 Kingston Town Classic Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Kingston Town Classic 2020 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Kingston Town Classic Results

The Kingston Town Classic results have been dominated by favourites and equal favourites over the past 10 years or so with the latest upsets caused by Playing God ($21 in 2011) who also saluted as the punters’ pick the previous year, Stratum Star ($12 in 2016), the shock local winner Pounamu ($21 in 2017), the filly Kay Cee ($11 in 2019) and Truly Great ($18 in 2020).

Other notable recent Kingston Town Classic winners include Luckygray (2012), Niconero (2006 and 2008) and Old Comrade (2000-01).

Kingston Town Classic Winners