Frolic Defeats Golden Slipper Favourite in Reisling Stakes

Frolic has mustered a career-best performance to date to beat resounding Golden Slipper favourite She Will Reign in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick this afternoon.

A smart ride by Tommy Berry saw Frolic beat She Will Reign in the Reisling Stakes. Photo: Steve Hart

A smart ride by Tommy Berry saw Frolic beat She Will Reign in the Reisling Stakes. Photo: Steve Hart

She Will Reign jumped as a clear $1.30 favourite in the Reisling Stakes this afternoon and it appeared as though she was on her way to another comfortable win when she jumped well and took an ideal position on the heels of early leader From Within.

Jockey Tommy Berry elected to take a position towards the rear of the field on Frolic and the pair experienced a carefree run in transit, before peeling wide rounding onto the final straight.

Berry steered the daughter of Husson to the outside rail with 300m to run; a decision that proved crucial as the filly clearly found the fast lane of the water-logged Randwick track and flew home late as her rivals battled away; She Will Reign and Villa Carlotta rounding out the minors.

Trainer Michael Freedman credited Berry’s decision to find the outside rail as pivotal in Frolic being crowned the 2017 Reisling Stakes winner.

“To Tommy’s credit he said before the race that if they start tracking out to the middle of the track, I’ve got no worries coming to the outside of the track, because I think it’s the best place to be,” Freedman said.

“I said that if you don’t have to do too much work to get out there, it’s your call.

“I think until she got out to that part of the track, she looked as though she was labouring a little bit which is understandable on this sort of ground. As soon as she got on that slightly better ground, she sprinted quickly likely she did last start.

“She can only do what she’s done. Today obviously the conditions aren’t that good and there’s probably a few that will come out with hard luck stories because of the track, but I think she’s had a perfect prep going into the Slipper and she’s got a nice two weeks.”

Berry’s ride was undoubtedly pivotal to Frolic winning the Reisling Stakes, but the jockey is confident that the filly will shape as a real chance in the 2017 Golden Slipper.

“I walked the track today and it was noticeably better out wide,” Berry said after dismounting.

“I spoke to Michael about doing it prior to the race and he left it up to me. I even told the stewards that I might do it in case there was a problem and she got beaten.

“Once we got to that ground, she quickened. You might have noticed that I didn’t pull the stick on her until she got out there.

“The rest is history.”

She Will Reign remains the favourite in early 2017 Reisling Stakes betting markets at Ladbrokes following the Reisling Stakes.

About The Author

Jared Timms

Jared graduated with a journalism degree in 2011. He is a keen sports fan and has enjoyed many accolades for his lively writing style and comprehensive coverage of major sporting events and horse racing. Today, you can find Jared cheering on his beloved Manchester City with a beer in hand.