More Than Ready filly Perfect Reflection has capped a trailblazing first campaign with a thrilling Group 1 victory over stablemate Delicacy in the Kingston Town Classic (1800m) at Ascot.

The Bob Peters homebred became the 17th Group 1 winner by Vinery champion More Than Ready in Perth’s premier weight-for-age event on Saturday.  She got first run on Delicacy in the straight and kept finding to score by a nose.

The Grant Williams trained pair cleared out more than four lengths from long-shot Dark Musket while Peters and his wife Sandra also provided fourth home Neverland (Big Brown).  Their other runner Real Love finished 8th.

“I probably presented her too early but she was climbing all over Blackwood,” jockey Willie Pike said.  “She waited for the others when we got to the front.  I didn’t know it was Delicacy coming but she still had plenty to offer.”

Perfect Reflection (3f More Than Ready – Reflected Image by Bluebird) is unbeaten in five starts after making a winning debut at Pinjarra on September 2.  She won at Belmont second-up and then kept raising the bar at Ascot in the LR Belgravia Stakes and G3 Champion Fillies.

An Eastern States campaign looks a likely option for the winner after she became the first filly to win the Kingston Town.  “I wasn’t overly confident today – I ran her because the WA Guineas came too quickly after the Champion Fillies,” Peters explained.  “We don’t get many chance to run in Group 1 races and I didn’t want to overtax her.  She’s off to the paddock now.”

Perfect Reflection is the third stakes winner for More Than Ready and Reflected Image following New Image (LR Belmont Oaks) and Ideal Image (LR Burgess Queen Stakes).  The latter notched another Listed victory in the Jungle Dawn Classic on Saturday.

Peters has never been more dominant in a lifetime striving for excellence and he supports More Than Ready with mares every season.  His homebred filly Dreamaway was an earlier Group 1 winner for the Vinery champion in the 2011 WA Derby.

Perth’s leading owner-breeder rarely gets carried away in post-race interviews but, reading between the lines, he’s looking forward to Perfect Reflection lifting those cerise and white silks to another level in Melbourne.

CLASSIC FINISH
Perfect Reflection (blue cap) defeats Delicacy at Ascot
Photo:  Graham Collopy / Sunday Times