The Listed W H Wylie Handicap highlights a solid nine-race card at Morphettvile on Saturday.

With a stack of in-form runners engaged or horses returning from career best campaigns, Saturday's Listed feature shapes to be one of the finest editions of the W H Wylie Handicap.

Press Down sits atop in early betting and it's not hard to see why. The Peter Hardacre-trained five-year-old was super when returning in the RN Irwin Stakes in April, only beaten 1.3L by eventual Group 1 Goodwood winner in Benedetta. Running to a new career peak of 106 on the Racing and Sports scale, the son of Press Statement would better his peak and run 113 when making a mess of a handy enough field in the Golden Topaz at Swan Hill, with It'sourtime 4L adrift in second. Looking at the history of the race through a ratings perspective, if Press Down was able to replicate his first-up effort from the RN Irwin, he wins or at least places in the last 20 editions of the race. If he was able to match his peak, he would blow them away. Saying that, with spring targets in Melbourne on the horizon it's unlikely Hardacre will have his gelding fully screwed down.

We should move on.

Sitting closely behind on the second line of better is fellow South Australian star sprinter Sghirripa. With an eclipsing peak rating of 115, thanks to a dominant 3L success in the Group 3 Standish back in January, there's certainly a case to be made for stable star of Shane & Cassie Oxlade. However, with similar spring ambitions to Press Down, I doubt the stable will have her breathing that kind of fire. The Lonhro gelding has also been well-found by the handicapper, lugging 61kgs, 4.5kgs-7kg more than the rest of the field.

While both would make more than deserving winners of W H Wylie, I've elected to side with and make this weekend's value play the race fit and perhaps better set-up of Karacasu from the sharp barn of R & C Jolly.

Rated 104 on the R&S scale, while he doesn't match the peaks of the two mentioned above, this six-year-old son of Headwater has been a staple of consistency in the SA racing landscape for quite some time.

Missing by a lip first-up to subsequent Listed Leon Macdonald Stakes winner Second To Nun, Karacasu has been given a quick freshen (35 days) after succumbing late under the top weight last start in the Group 3 Behemoth Stakes.

Contesting many of the same sprint features earlier in the year during the Adelaide carnival, Karacasu very much held his own. Karacasuv was no further than 2L away to both Press Down & Sghirripa in the four times they mixed their form last campaign. The only time all three locked horns was in the Group 3 John Hakwes Stakes where Sghirripa was best home of the trio finishing 1.2L ahead of Karacasu, who necked Press Down. Karacasu now meets them both better at the weights, a 2.5kgs pull on Sghirripa and 1.5kgs on the horse he beat in Press Down.

With two good hit-outs under his belt, I expect Karacasu to be charging full steam ahead into Saturday's feature, and at double figures he looks a great each-way bet.

As for another one I'm keen to follow up on is Annie's Rose from theAlexander Justice stable.

The Sepoy mare returned with a bang here a fortnight ago when running good time to score with authority over this journey. Running to a career peak of 90 on the R&S scale, it doesn't look like she will have to improve much to be featuring prominently in the finish again. Expect her to drift back early from the draw and be climbing over their backs late.

Say From SA

Best: Race 4 #12 Annie's Rose @ $3.50