CICALA AND COTE ATLANTIQUETHE MAIN FANCIES IN THE LEON MCDONALD STAKES AT MORPHETTVILLE

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, August 19, 2026

A full field of fourteen runners will face the starter in the $120 000 Leon Macdonald Stakes over 1400m at Morphettville Parks on Saturday with the Will Clarken and Charlotte Sorby trained Cicala and the Henry Dwyer trained Cote Atlantique currently vying for favouritism at odds of $3.70 and $3.80 respectively.

The lightly raced five-year-old Cicala has won four of her eight starts to date, including a win in the Listed Lightning Stakes at Morphettville thirteen months ago (on July 26, 2025).

The Lightning Stakes win gave Cicala her third successive career victory in as many starts … as she rounded off her unbeaten three-year-old season in style. Cicala did not race as a two-year-old.

She then opened her four-year-old campaign in early August 2025 with a fifth place finish in the Group 3 Behemoth Stakes … before striking winning form again in her next start, little knowing then that start would be last taste of race action for nine months as injury then put her on the sidelines from August 30, 2025 until June 13, 2026.

Since then, Cicala has raced three times. In her last two starts she finished less than a length behind the eight-time winner Lingani over 1100m before again targeting the Group 3 Behemoth Stakes and catching the eye with a close-up second place finish behind Sir Now over 1200m.

Those two runs suggest that the mare is on her way back and could be ready to fulfill the potential she showed earlier in her career.

Cicala’s market rival Cote Atlantique, fir his part, has tackled three Listed and one Group 3 race in his last four starts.

All of those Listed runs came during the Queensland Winter Carnival … in the Brisbane Handicap, the Bernborough and the Glasshouse, with the Brisbane Handicap giving the son of Kodiac his best result there … a runner-up finish behind the ten-time winner Kronenbourg,

The Group 3 run, which was his last start, came back in Victoria in the Aurie’s Star at Flemington just three weeks ago where he finished fifth in a race won by Boomtown Boss.

Cote Atlantique has been a bit of a tease for punters on occasions. He finished second in three successive starts earlier this year (in March and April) … it is worth noting though that the first of those results came in the Group 3 Haunui Farm King’s Plate at Ellerslie … and you have to go back to October last year to find his last win which was in the Listed Seymore Cup.

He could well be right in the fight over the concluding stages, but it remains to be seen if he can find that winning edge.

Cicala and Cote Atlantique have the race all tied up as far as the betting is concerned with Swiftie Harriet ($7.50) and Air Assault ($8) being the only other runners currently quoted at odds under $14.