A fourteen horse field has been announced to face off in Perth’s Ted Van Heemst Stakes 2016 – formerly the C.B. Cox Stakes – at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday.

Continuing the action of the Perth Summer Racing Carnival, the $250,000 Group 2 Ted Van Heemst Stakes (2100m) is a key lead-up to the Perth Cup held over the mile and a half back at the track on New Year’s Eve.

The sole last start winner in this season’s Ted Van Heemst Stakes field is the Fred Kersley-trained Respondent.

Drawn gate eight on Saturday the Haradasun six-year-old comes off a narrow victory in the Listed Tattersall’s Cup (2100m) over the same track and distance.

He carried 56.6kg that day and goes up to 59kg at weight-for-age this weekend.

Kersley has also accepted for Ihtsahymn who hasn’t won a race since June and who is out to atone for an eleventh in the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m).

Likely favourite and one of the genuine headliners in the field is the Grant & Alana Williams-trained Perfect Reflection.

She has a wide barrier 12 draw to overcome but the distance and time to do it with Perth’s premier hoop William Pike booked for the ride.

The four-year-old daughter of More Than Ready has a stellar Ascot record of four wins and three thirds from seven starts at the track.

She is yet to win over further than 1800m, but is a Group 1 winner and comes off a string of top three performances.

Two back she crossed third in the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and last start on December 3 she ran third to Stratum Star when unsuccessfully defending her title in the Kingston Town Classic.

The distance is the test this weekend, but she’s in the right form and is a livewire chance.

The stable have also accepted for Neverland in barrier two with Peter Hall riding and I’m Feeling Lucky in gate seven.

I’m Feeling Lucky is a six-year-old Bletchley Park mare who won four on the trot last prep before returning for a close first-up second to Silverstream in the Listed Jungle Dawn Classic (1400m).

She rises notably in distance second-up on Saturday, but has won over 2200m so the metres look a non-issue.

Also coming off a gun lead-up run into the former CB Cox Stakes this summer is the Graeme Ballantyne-trained Musket gelding Dark Musket.

The five-year-old finished third behind Kia Ora Koutou in the Listed JRA Trophy (2200m) at the track last weekend and is on the quick back-up into Saturday’s clash.

Dark Musket goes up from 55kg that run to 59kg on the weekend and has Jarrad Noske retaining the ride from gate nine.

Other notable hopes include the rails-drawn Dubai Escapade who has plenty of form at the distance (7-3-0-2) and proven stayer Zarantz who is out to break his Ascot hoodoo having failed to run top three from nine starts at the track to date.

See below for the official CB Cox Stakes – Ted Van Heemst Stakes – field and barriers with betting to open shortly at Ladbrokes.com.au.

2016 Ted Van Heemst / CB Cox Stakes Field & Barriers

Ascot Racecourse – 17/12/2016

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Br.	Wgt.
1	x661x43630	IHTSAHYMN	Fred Kersley	Steven Parnham	5	59kg
2	322404×301	RESPONDENT	Fred Kersley	TBA	8	59kg
3	6x8172x806	DUBAI ESCAPADE	Justin Warwick	Ben Kennedy	1	59kg
4	0x79600220	BASS STRAIT (NZ)	Neville Parnham	TBA	6	59kg
5	611x23x607	ZARANTZ	Simon A Miller	4	59kg
6	272164×833	DARK MUSKET	Graeme Ballantyne	Jarrad Noske	9	59kg
7	23116×1357	TRADESMAN	Robert & Todd Harvey	Troy Turner	13	59kg
8	9951113103	FATHOMS OF GOLD	Robyne Martin	Matthieu Autier	11	59kg
9	83×2497229	BEDAMIJO	Tara Itzstein	Shaun O’Donnell	14	57kg
10	1422×76805	NEVERLAND	Grant & Alana Williams	Peter Hall	2	57kg
11	9x751111x2	I’M FEELING LUCKY	Grant & Alana Williams	Glenn Smith	7	57kg
12	213114×808	TICK TICK BLOOM	G Durrant & J Miller	Patrick Carbery	3	57kg
13	41213×7786	SHINTA MANI	Sharon Miller	Jason Whiting	10	57kg
14	11x30x3133	PERFECT REFLECTION	Grant & Alana Williams	William Pike	12	56kg