Cover image courtesy of Sportpix
The G1 Northerly Stakes, previously the Kingston Town Classic, and before that named after a variety of sponsors, runs on Saturday for the 50th time. The race, over 1800 metres, at weight for age conditions has an extraordinary record with 3-year-olds, who’ve won the race 19 times.
Oddly, 4-year-old have only won eight editions, while 5-year-olds have 11 and 6-year-olds have 10. Only once has a 7-year-old taken the prize.
Northerly was a WFA star
There’s a parallel to be made between the G1 Cox Plate and the G1 Northerly Stakes, and it’s not just because the great Northerly (Serheed {USA}) won the Cox Plate twice. Known as the Fighting Tiger because of his yellow and black silks, Northerly was trained by West Australian Fred Kersley and never won this race.
Eight of his nine Group 1 wins were on the Eastern seaboard, with his only Perth Group 1 win in the Railway Stakes, but when it came to honour him with naming rights to a local race, this one was chosen. To be fair, the race has had eight different names in its 49-year history. Kingston Town, who held naming rights to the race before Northerly, did actually win this race in 1982.
Northerly | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Coincidentally, Northerly’s trainer’s grandson Fred rides Chris Waller-trained Osipenko (NZ) (Pierro) in Saturday’s race.
The parallel comes because the two races are similar. The Cox Plate is over 2040 metres at weight for age conditions in mid-October. The Northerly is over 1800 metres at weight for age in early December. It takes a very good 3-year-old to win the Cox Plate, and the same applies in Perth.
King Of Light could extend his unbeaten streak
The two 3-year-olds in the race this year are trained by Dan Morton. All the talk is around the favourite King Of Light (Earthlight {Ire}) who won the G2 WA Guineas last start and has a picket fence form line with five wins from five starts. He’ll carry 52 kg on Saturday, with most of the rest of the field carrying 57, 58.5, and 59 kg. Only his stablemate carries less.
“Not many of them do it (stay unbeaten) these days, but he’s the real deal,” Morton said in the days after the gelding’s Guineas victory. “He’s just got a beautiful temperament, he has this very laid-back character.”
The son of former Darley shuttler Earthlight (Ire) had been on the top of Morton’s shortlist at the Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale and ended up being the horse he had to take home. He had to push past his limits for him, because outlaying $120,000 for King Of Light made him one of the most expensive yearling purchases that trainer Daniel Morton made in 2024. It’s been a savvy selection with his five wins gaining his connections over $580,000 in prizemoney.
King Of Light | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
“I take a holistic approach,” he said when describing how he selects his yearling purchases. “I’m not too worried if they’re not very fashionably bred if I like the type. Super Smink was like that - she’s by Super One and they haven’t exactly set the world on fire, but I just loved her and had to take her home. She’s been a great mare for us.
“We don’t get the exotic stallions here in Perth very much,” said Morton. “It’s where we have had the most luck buying, and you never pay overs for them at Perth either. I would buy 20 I Am Invincibles if I could, but we just can’t do that.”
He added, “it’s easy to sound clever now saying that I put up and bought him, but I just really liked him.”
Dan Morton | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
King Of Light was the first foal to be sold out of his dam Queen’s Parade (NZ) (Dalghar {Fr}), despite being her fourth foal. Morton benefited from a stock reduction from Impressive Racing, who trimmed their assets in 2023 and 2024 as director Darren McAuliffe sought to focus more on training himself.
McAuliffe also parted with Queen’s Parade, a winning half-sister to G3 Tibbie Stakes winner Spirit Bird (NZ) (Savabeel), the same year, returning her to breeder Nevan Botica. Queen’s Parade had been a yearling purchase for Impressive Racing herself, recording a win and a city placing in a short career before heading to the breeding barn. Her first two foals have 10 wins between them now, and Amelia Park prepared her Earthlight son for the ring, where he was their second most expensive lot at that year’s Perth sale.
There are further hints in Queen’s Parade’s pedigree that King Of Light could be destined for further, with Spirit Bird producing G1 Queensland Derby runner-up Fame (Manhattan Rain). Under his third dam is superb Hong Kong earner Ensued (USA) (Lemon Drop Kid {USA}), winner of the G3 HKJC Ladies’ Purse last season in Hong Kong and a runner-up to Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) in the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup.
Darren McAuliffe | Image courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald
And now with such a string of performances under his belt, Morton has dared to dream that the G1 Northerly Stakes over 1800 metres this Saturday might be within reach.
“He’s such so laid back and he’s getting the job done. He’s got to raise the bar come Saturday, he’s doing everything right, and he’s a deserved favourite, but he’s still got to step up,” said Morton.
“He’s such so laid back and he’s getting the job done. He’s doing everything right, and he’s a deserved favourite, but he’s still got to step up.” - Dan Morton
“He’s a nice horse to train and doesn’t give many headaches. You do have to make sure he’s doing his work properly otherwise he gets a bit burly.”
Morton’s filly could upset the apple cart
Dan Morton also trains the other 3-year-old in the field, last start Group 3 winner Pure Excess (Exceedance). She’s been an ultra-consistent filly in her five starts, placing four times before breaking through for a maiden win in the G3 Champion Fillies Stakes over a mile. With two runs at two, for a third and a second, Pure Excess resumed at three to run third over 1200 metres. She stepped up to the 1400 metres of the Listed Burgess Queen Stakes and was third again before her Group 3 victory.
“Different fish, she’s a lighter filly. The three week gap has been perfect for her. We’ve been keeping her ticking over. She’s had a couple of maintenance gallops to fit her out, and with 50kg, she could show up,” Morton said.
“Both are above average (on the e-tracker) with what we look at. The gelding has a huge stride length on him, and the filly is very fast, very effective. What she’s done so far has been no fluke.”
Pure Excess | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
Bred and owned by Oakland Park Stud, Pure Excess is one of five stakes winners for Vinery Stud’s G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Exceedance.
“She was able to find what was needed that day to get the victory and then straight away the attention switched to the Northerly as that win qualified her,” jockey Steve Parnham told racing.com on Tuesday.
Parnham has to waste to get down to the 50kg, but he’s done it before. “I am a bit older and my weight is a bit higher than it was back then in 2019 when I won it on the filly Kay Cee, so it was always going to be a big challenge this time around. I've kept records of my weights over the years and I've started this week very similar to that week in 2019, so that's comforting.”
Pure Excess is the third foal of her dam, Pure Purity (Can) (Perfect Soul {Ire}), whose first two foals were co-bred by Hybrook Pastoral and R & C Legh Racing. Pure Purity arrived in Australia in 2019, having been bought by Cherrybrook Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale of 2019 for US$35,000 (AU$53,000).
Pure Purity | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
A year later, she was sold in foal to Russian Revolution at the 2020 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale to Vinery Stud for $150,000, and went back to the same sale in 2022, carrying the pregnancy that would result in Pure Excess. This time, Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) purchased her for $140,000, and she ended up with Oakland Park Stud.
Since then, she’s slipped three years in a row, so Pure Excess is her youngest foal. Pure Purity was a good race mare, winning five times, and twice Listed placed. This isn’t the most flashy pedigree, but it’s one filled with tough runners who keep putting in the big efforts. And it only needs one Group 1 winner to elevate it to the next level.
Pure Purity is a half-sister to three Canadian Listed winners, led by Flashy Margarita (Can) (Bold ‘N’ Flashy {Can}) who won twelve times, with three wins at Listed level. Citius (Can) (Old Forrester {USA}) was equally as tough, winning ten times including two Listed races, while the other stakes winning sibling is juvenile Listed winner of two races at two, Bourbon Stritta (Can) (Old Forrester {USA}).
There’s a plenitude of black type on the page and the horses in the family are tough and consistent, which are qualities that Pure Excess has already demonstrated in her five starts to date.
Playing God, a winner at 3 and 4
Only eight horses have won the G1 Northerly Stakes as 4-year-olds, and not many horses have won it twice. There is a considerable overlap in those two groups. Of the five dual winners in 49 years, three of them won at three and again at four.
The first dual winner was the inaugural winner Family Of Man (Lots Of Man {USA}), who won at three in 1976, then again two years later at five. Niconero (Danzero) is the only other horse to win twice and not consecutively, as a 5-year-old in 2006, then returning to the winner’s circle in 2008.
The trio of horses who won their double in successive years began with Summer Beau (NZ) (Sky Filou {NZ}) who won as a 3-year-old in 1996 and again at four in 1997. Old Comrade (Old Spice) achieved the same feat in 2000 and 2001. Playing God also did this, winning at three in 2010 and again in 2011.
Playing God | Standing at Darling View Thoroughbreds
At stud, Playing God has been a sensation for Western Australia with 24 stakes winners from 260 runners. His 3-year-old daughter Kay Cee won this race in 2019, while his G1 Railway Stakes winner Bustler ran fourth last year as a 4-year-old.
In 2025, Playing God is represented by Group 2 winning 5-year-old gelding Zipaway who is having his third crack at the race for trainer Neville Parnham. He ran third in this race as a 3-year-old behind Dom To Shoot (Shooting To Win) and sixth last year as a 4-year-old. Like the favourite this year, Zipaway won the G2 WA Guineas in his start prior to running third here as a 3-year-old.
Maybe this will be his year, but he’s got to beat a pair of exciting 3-year-olds to get there. And they have history on their side.
