Courageous six-year-old Marocchino has been allocated topweight of 59kg for the $500,000 G2 Perth Cup (2400m) at Ascot on January 1.

N/A

Jockey Shaun McGruddy is keen to continue his successful association with Marocchino and complete a feature race double at Ascot on Saturday.

Trainer Lou Luciani will wait and see before deciding on whether to start Hot Zed in Saturday week’s Group 3 A.J. Scahill Stakes (1400m), following his win in Saturday’s Carbine Club Stakes (1400m).

Champion jockey William Pike likes what he sees from Marocchino and says there’s no reason why they can’t continue their successful association at Ascot on Saturday.