‘I can’t believe she’s $26’ – Waterhouse backing ‘forgotten’ juveniles to make Slipper history
In this mightily momentous race’s most open edition in years, reflecting a particularly even crop of two-year-olds, several contenders might deserve the tag of “forgotten horse” in Saturday’s Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m).
But the event’s biggest name – Gai Waterhouse – is adamant two of her three runners – colt North England (Farnan) and filly Bellazaine (Zousain) – are front and centre among them.
Golden Slipper No.69 has drawn an intriguing field befitting the world’s richest juvenile event, the Rosehill scamper that makes or breaks fortunes in the breeding world.
And is a fitting snapshot of the Australian thoroughbred industry, they come from all parts of the spectrum.
From the top end of town comes the Waller-Coolmore colt by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj), the glamour sire of the moment, in Wodeton a $1.6 million buy from Magic Millions Gold Coast.
In a tick for the yearling market, the field’s most expensive runner looks likely to start favourite despite running third and second at his past two starts. Wodeton was at $5 on Friday, equal with Godolphin homebred filly Tempted (Street Boss).
At $12, there’s big-spending Yulong Stud’s Devil Night (Extreme Choice), the $1.4 million Gold Coast yearling who’s already justified his owner’s outlay by winning the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at his third and latest run one month ago to the day.
And the million-dollar babies are rounded out by the longest priced of Waterhouse and Bott’s three runners in Farcited (Farnan), a $1.2 million Gold Coast buy who’s around $51 after running second in Canberra’s Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) on March 9.
In contrast comes Within The Law, by Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega), a relatively obscure Yulong first-season sire, who could give the rampaging Bjorn Baker stable its first win in one of Australia’s “Big Four” races.
Winner of three from four and a $12 chance, the filly is the cheapest runner in the field after Darby Racing paid only $30,000 for her at Inglis Classic. She’s already won $1.14 million, but Darby are hoping lightning will strike twice and she can emulate their 2017 Slipper winner She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain). Trained by Gary Portelli, that filly was also her edition’s cheapest runner having cost $20,000, also at Classic.
Veteran handler Gerald Ryan, who now trains in partnership with Sterling Alexiou, saddles two runners in $8 third-favourite Skyhook (Written Tycoon) and $34 shot King Of Pop (Farnan), as he also seeks a maiden win in one of Australia’s quartet of “majors”. In a vote of reassurance, they are two of his stable’s top three purchases of 2024, while Skyhook costing $575,000 and King Of Pop $800,000, both out of the Gold Coast sale.
No one knows more about Slippers than Waterhouse, who’s won a record eight of them, the past two in conjunction with co-trainer Adrian Bott, including last year’s with Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon). Meanwhile, her first in partnership with Bott was in 2020 with Farnan (Not A Single Doubt), the sire of two-thirds of the stable’s runners this year, North England and Farcited.
And she’s convinced the market has forgotten about North England, at $19, and Bellazaine, at $26.
North England, bred by the since liquidated Zhongli Thoroughbreds, and bought at Classic for $280,000 by China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock and Trilogy, showed up early with a win at Sydney’s first official two-year-old trials at Kensington.
After a third in the Breeders’ Plate (Gr 3, 1000m), he scored a tough, all-the-way win in November’s $1 million Golden Gift (1100m) – one of the 17 NSW races to have had proposed black type upgrades rejected by the Asian Racing Federation.
North England’s autumn resumption was checked when a minor health problem forced his scratching from last month’s Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m). He ultimately raced first-up in the Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), with Waterhouse warning he’d improve vastly for the run, where he led until collared late and finished a 1.79-length fifth.
With subsequent improvement, Waterhouse is tipping a powerhouse performance on Saturday for North England, as he seeks to enshrine his stud credentials by claiming a genuine black type victory, in Australia’s most important stallion-maker. The colt will jump from gate nine for masterful front-running jockey Tim Clark.
“North England is very much a forgotten horse. He’s certainly going to be very hard to beat,” Waterhouse told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He’s improved hugely. The other day he needed that run in the Todman; he was a bit fresh. He’s gone ahead in leaps and bounds, and he’s very well placed.”
Waterhouse was also enthused over the prospects of Bellazaine, a $160,000 Classic buy for the stable and Kestrel Thoroughbreds, who’ll also likely cross to the front from barrier 15 for Regan Bayliss.
Bellazaine debuted with a seventh in the Gimcrack Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) in October before winning February’s Lonhro Plate (Listed, 1000m) and running a 0.01-length second, after leading, in Within The Law’s Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on March 1.
She’s since had a top-up barrier trial at Randwick on March 10, which she won by 0.82 lengths.
“I can’t believe she’s $26. Fillies have a very good record in this race recently,” said Waterhouse, whose Lady Of Camelot was the fifth female Slipper winner in eight years.
“She ran a big race the other day and she’s done everything right since. She’s trialed into the race, which I love, and I’d say she’s had the ideal preparation.
“I like all three of our horses. Farcited is a lovely horse. They’re all fit, and they’re ready to rock and roll.
“I’m not sure about who the biggest danger might be, but if you’re trying to find a danger, your biggest thing is to have the horse who’s had a spring campaign. Of all the Slippers I’ve won, the vast majority have had spring campaigns.”
Market assessors have placed great faith in the two traditionally most important Slipper lead-up races two weeks ago.
Wodeton could start favourite after his second in the Todman – to the subsequently injured Tentyris (Street Boss). Yulong’s second runner Tycoon Star (Written Tycoon), fourth in the Todman, is at $19.
And Tempted might also start favourite after winning the fillies’ Reisling Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m). Second that day was Michael Freedman’s Emirates Park homebred Marhoona (Snitzel), who on Friday was on the third line of Slipper betting at $9.50.
Of Ryan and Alexiou’s pair, Skyhook had no spring exposure, while King Of Pop trialled twice in November before being put away.
Skyhook debuted with a third in Randwick’s Pierro Plate (1100m), before a luckless 0.14-length second in the Skyline Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) – behind $9.50 Slipper chance Rivellino (Too Darn Hot).
He then proved how unfortunate he was that day by stepping out last Saturday for a 3.24-length victory in the Pago Pago Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), at Rosehill – to the eye, the most impressive Slipper trial of any in the 16-horse field.
Beforehand, Ryan was equivocal about tackling the one-week back-up into the Slipper. Skyhook’s behaviour since has silenced any doubts.
“I always say if you’re going to do a quick back-up it’s best to do it on your home track,” the Rosehill trainer told ANZ. “He’ll have had the two races without having had a float trip.
“You never know about the back-up until you do it, but you can’t fault him in his looks, or on his feed bin. On Wednesday and Thursday morning he was going around the track pig-rooting. He’s come out of the run really well.”
Ryan, who like the Slipper itself is 69, believes the race will set up well for Skyhook, who has barrier eight with Kerrin McEvoy chasing his second victory in the event after winning aboard Sepoy (Elusive Quality) in 2011.
All probable front-runners are drawn to his outside, facing early work to spear across, in the Waterhouse and Bott trio of North England, Bellazaine and Farcited, and Team Hawkes’s Devil Night, who sat second in the Blue Diamond, and has gate 11 for Michael Dee.
“The gate’s alright, the speed’s outside him, plus one inside him [Marhoona]. We should get a nice bit of cover in the race,” Ryan said.
“I hope from our gate Skyhook will be just ahead of midfield. You don’t want to get too far back in a Slipper. The only ones who win from back in the field have been on wet tracks, when you look back through history. With a good track, the winner’s usually up on the speed.”
Ryan argues King Of Pop could also deserve the “forgotten horse” tag, as a last-start winner of the Black Opal, even if his odds are lengthened by his outside barrier.
King Of Pop debuted with a Warwick Farm maiden win followed by his 0.29 length Canberra victory.
He’s attempting to become only the second horse to win the Black Opal-Slipper double, with the previous being Catbird in 1999.
Ryan knows how hard that feat is. He’s had two Slipper seconds, including with Paint (Raami) in 1996, who won the Black Opal before being beaten 1.5 lengths in the Rosehill feature by Merlene (Danehill).
“I think it’s a good lead-up race, the Black Opal,” Ryan said. “There’s been reasons why more horses haven’t won the Black Opal-Slipper double. It used to be three weeks before the Slipper, or one week, but now it sits just right at 13 days.
“King Of Pop won well in the Black Opal and came out of it well. He could’ve raced again on the Wednesday. I’m really happy with him, although the barrier’s buggered him up.
“We were trying to get him to the Magic Millions race, but had we kept going with him he would’ve gone shin sore. So we pulled back and aimed him at the Slipper, and the plan was always to give him two runs into it. His preparation’s been terrific.”
Ryan is phlegmatic regarding where the Slipper sits among his targets, as he pursues a Big Four trophy to go with his other 25 Group 1 wins.
“It’s a race I don’t go chasing. If the horses are good enough to warrant getting into it, they get into it. I don’t force them to get there,” said Ryan, who was also runner-up with Snitzerland (Snitzel) in 2012, who finished 0.4 lengths adrift of Pierro (Lonhro).
“All I’ll say is I reckon winning it will feel better than running second.”
The same sanguine approach can’t be attributed to Baker, however, as he also seeks a first “major” alongside seven other Group 1 victories.
“I’d love to win it. It’d be very important for the stable,” he told ANZ.
“Actually, the Slipper means more to me than any other race. I’m based in Sydney, and two-year-old racing’s what it’s all about. It has a massive impact in terms of promoting your business and for the commercial aspect of the game.
“The Slipper’s the race that when I came over here 14 years ago I dreamed about winning.”
Within The Law has to contend with gate 13 for Jason Collett, but at least Baker knows she has a winner’s mindset.
Within The Law fits Waterhouse’s spring template, having won Flemington’s Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) in November by 1.25 lengths. She then took Randwick’s Inglis Nursery (RL, 1000m) on December 14 before flying home from the rear for a 0.44 length second in Rivellino’s Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m).
She rounded off her campaign with another never-say-die victory, if only by only 0.01 lengths, in the Sweet Embrace over Bellazaine, keeping on coming from ninth entering the straight to arrive on the line.
“I thought she was phenomenal that day,” Baker said. “She had to cover ground, got checked out of the gates, and had to do it the hard way. Her last furlong was outstanding. The last 50 or 100 metres, she’s very, very good.
“I wouldn’t swap her for any other horse, although I might swap the gate.
“But Jason Collett knows her very well, and I’m just hoping we can have luck in the run.
“It’s tricky. We’re hoping they do go very fast up front. The faster they go, probably the more chance we have.”
For Darby to win two modern Slippers with fillies costing a combined $50,000 would be the stuff of legend.
“It just shows you what good horses Darby buy,” Baker said. “A lot of people would have said She Will Reign was a fluke. But they’ve come out and found another one at good value, as they always do.”