Jockey Kerrin McEvoy is confident that Earthquake will take plenty of improvement out of her impressive Reisling Stakes victory when she contests the 2014 Golden Slipper(1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on April 5.
Earthquake will be chasing her fifth race win from as many starts when she contests the Golden Slipper. Photo by: Steve Hart
Earthquake returned to the races, for the first time since she won the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) on February 22, in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday and stamped herself as a dominant Golden Slipper favourite with a comfortable win over Mossfun and Alpha Miss.
McEvoy told Racing Ahead this morning that he was very happy with the performance of Earthquake, but believes that the daughter of Exceed And Excel will produce an even stronger performance when she runs in the Golden Slipper in just under two weeks’ time.
“She was fantastic,” McEvoy said.
“She had a little bit of a let-up and spent some time at the farm, so it was reassuring to see her return to Sydney and perform in the manner that she did.
“There will be a nice amount of improvement going forward and she pleased me in the sense that she was able to begin well and go forward in a position where she controlled the race.”
Earthquake was not asked for an extra effort from McEvoy until she got to the 200 metre mark in the Reisling Stakes and hung out slightly when she reached her top speed.
McEvoy blamed himself for the minor issue and is confident that Earthquake will not do the same if she is placed under pressure in the Golden Slipper.
“I actually wanted to come off the fence a little bit and I blame myself for letting her drift out as far as she did,” McEvoy said.
“If I had corrected her and pull the stick into the left hand earlier she wouldn’t have done that.
“It wasn’t as if she was hanging violently, it was probably just a little bit of a pilot effort.”
McEvoy is chasing his second win in the Golden Slipper after winning the 2011 edition of the race with Sepoy and he admits that there is a number of similarities between the two Darley-owned superstars; praising the professional manner in which Earthquake goes about her business on the race track.
“It is always quiet hard to measure them up, but they were both very professional and that is what she has showed,” McEvoy said.
“She has got an old head on young shoulders and that is, along with her class, what has taken her a long way.
“It is going to help her fire into the next tough assignment in the Slipper.”
Earthquake has the chance to join Hartshill (1974), Burst (1992), Belle Du Jour (2000), Polar Express (2003) and Overreach (2013) as the only fillies that have won the Reisling Stakes and Golden Slipper in the same year.
