HOT AND HIGH HEADS A STRONG LINE-UP IN THE W S CRAWFORD. BIDS FOR SEVENTH WIN IN EIGHT STARTS

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, October 14, 2026

The well performed, Dion Luciani trained Hot And High will tackle the $125 000 W S Crawford Stakes over 1200m at Ascot on Saturday.

The winner of six out of her seven career starts was also nominated for the Group 3 Eurythmic Stakes over 1400m on the same day … but connections made the call to go the way of the W S Crawford, choosing to sidestep a confrontation with the likes of the battle hardened stars Western Empire and Watch Me Rock.

Not that winning the W S Crawford will be an easy task for the four-year-old daughter of Too Darn Hot who comes into the race fresh, first-up after close to a four month layoff since saluting in the Listed Belmont Guineas over 1600m on June 20.

Prior to that Hot And High had produced a perfect record of five wins in her first five career starts, before finished second by a nostril to Vatican Storm in the Listed Raconteur Stakes over 1400m at Belmont … her only defeat to date.

On Saturday, Hot And high will be back at Ascot over 1200m. She is unbeaten in two starts at the track … unbeaten in two starts over Saturday’s race distance … unbeaten in two starts first-up … and all of her wins have come on a good racing surface, which is likely to be the case on Saturday, so it is difficult to find a dent in her armoury.

For all of that, it remains a highly competitive contest.

The Tiarnna Noske trained Cessation has only finished out of the first two places once in her last eight starts … a run of results which includes two wins, both over Saturday’s track and distance, as well as no less than five runner-up finishes, most notably in the Listed Jungle Mist Classic, the Listed Black Hart Bart Stakes, the Marjorie Charleson Classic (all at Ascot) … and in the $1 million Golden Saddle at Kalgoorlie in her last start just two weeks ago, which underlined her current well-being.

She clearly has strong claims of her own.

Playing It Sweet and London’s Image are others given a chance in the betting.

The Adam Durrant trained Playing It Sweet is a seven-time winner from twelve starts. She comes into the race bidding for a hat-trick after saluting in the Listed Western Australian Breeders’ Classic over 1200m and the Listed Challenge Stakes over 1500m in her last two starts.

She has won on all of good, soft and heavy going so any change in weather conditions, unlikely but possible, will make no difference to her.

London’s Image, another seven-time winner, will have her first start for the Jason Pateman stable after switching from the yard of the suspended Grant and Alana Williams.

She has won three times in Listed company and has also placed no less than seven times at that level, as recently as in the Sheila Gwynne Classic over 1400m at Ascot in her last start on April 25.

The jockey bookings make interesting reading.

Lucy Fiore stays with Playing It Sweet as the duo looks to complete that feature race hat trick. She had ridden Hot And High in the mare’s last two starts and she is replaced in the saddle there by Chris Parnham, who will now ride the ruling race favourite. Fiore also rode London’s Image in the five-year-olds last seven starts. Clint Johnston-Porter now replaces her in that role. Jarrad Noska keeps the ride on Cessation.

The race presents as a really intriguing mix of talent and potential where the eventual winner might get home as much by way of mental toughness as by ability in what could turn out to be a pressurised finish.