TALKANCO AND IMMORTAL BLISS FACE OFF ONCE AGAIN

By Graham Potter | Thursday, November 12, 2026

Will it be a Talkanco / Immortal Bliss rematch in the Group 3 Colonel Reeves Stakes, which will be contested over 1100m at Ascot on Saturday … or will Bassatt Hound be good enough to add to his already impressive winning sequence and down his two well performed rivals.

The Daniel and Ben Pearce trained Talkanco was all class when she landed the Prince Of Wales Stakes, her first success at Group 3 level, at Ascot two weeks ago.

The four-year-old mare was first-up in the Prince Of Wakes after a five-and-a-half month break from race action since venturing in interstate to contest the Group 1 Goodwood at Morphettville, where she finished unplaced but only 2.15 lengths behind the winner Desert Lightning.

Talkanco did have strong first-up form (that was her third win in five first-up starts), but it was nevertheless a commanding performance under pressure as she kept her market rival Immortal Bliss and the surprise package Kraken Time at bay by 0.70 length and 0,76 lengths respectively.

Underlining her prowess is the result she gained three runs back in the $5 million Quokka where she finished a close-up third behind Jigsaw (who has won the Group 1 William Reid in his previous start) and Ray Magnerio (who had finished third in the Group 1 Winterbottom behind Libertad and Overpass).

Allowing natural progression with the benefit of that run, Talkanco, could again be a tough nut to crack with Brad Parnham, who rode the Pearce trained runner to victory in the Prince Of Wales, again in the saddle.

Not that Immortal Bliss is going to go away lightly, particularly that there is now a 1kg weight turnover in favour of the Daniel Morton trained runner.

Immortal Bliss was second-up in the Prince Of Wales and has won on multiple occasions when racing third-up, but, as consistent as he has been, the son of I Am Immortal has yet to win beyond Listed company.

That said, the five-year-old’s form in seven starts for Morton (who is Immortal Bliss’s third trainer) could easily be seen as a nice enough buildup to his first Group win … with Morton having saddled Immortal Bliss to three wins, a second place and two third places in those seven starts.

Lucy Fiore, who has partnered Immortal Bliss in all of its runs for Morton, will again guide the fortunes of the five-year-old gelding.

When they last clashed Talanco was the $2.30 race favourite and Immortal Bliss was the second fancy at $2.80. Their current respective prices for Saturday have Talanco on $4.80 and Immortal Bliss on $5.50.

Better prices but still only a marginal difference between them … the better prices coming into play because neither of these two runners is the race favourite.

The place at the top of the betting boards currently belongs to the Mitchell Pateman trained Bassett Hound, who is very much on a winning roll having won his last five starts in succession, in the process going from a maiden win to saluting in an RGT78+ Handicap.

Little to argue about there … the four-year-old son of Wootton Bassett has certainly been doing everything asked of him over the last six months and so has more than earned his right to tackle a more demanding challenge … and that is exactly what he gets here.

Just how he copes with it will be one of the telling points of the race.

The Steve Wolfe trained Rope Them In, an $8 chance who finished second behind the very smart Western Empire in the Group 3 Belmont Sprint over 1400m two runs back … and then followed that up with a third place finish behind the same winner in the Group 3 Hyperion Stakes last time out, is the only other runner quoted at less than $10 in the betting.