Fireworks will jump from an outside gate in the 2015 Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens this weekend, but trainer Gerald Ryan is confident that the wide draw will not be an issue for the talented filly.
Fireworks will take her place in the 2015 Golden Slipper field this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
Fireworks was allocated barrier 15 when the 2015 Golden Slipper barrier draw was released yesterday, but the daughter of Snitzel will come into barrier 12 following the withdrawal of the emergencies and Ryan told Racing Ahead that he is confident the backmarker can receive a nice run in transit before hitting the line strongly in the final stages of the race.
“She is a backmarker, she will get back worse than midfield and hopefully she can get a bit of luck back in there,” Ryan said.
“Last year they were coming away from the fence and Mossfun went straight up the inside, while the other little filly that ran fourth in the race went straight up the fence.
“There does look to be really good speed in the race and it just depends how they go.
“One thing I do know is that she will be very strong late.”
Fireworks was not included in the initial entries for the Golden Slipper, but stamped herself as one of the most talented two-year-old fillies in Australia when she defeated a strong field to take out the Group 3 Widden Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on January 31.
The two-year-old was unable to return to winning form in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m), but she did enough to convince Ryan that she was worthy of a place in the 2015 Golden Slipper field and the veteran trainer believes that the filly has taken plenty of benefit out of her Reisling Stakes victory.
“The form around her is very good, at her last three starts she has run the best sectionals in the race,” Ryan said.
“We believe that if she got out at the 300 metre mark and not the 100 metre mark at her last start then she would have nearly won the race, she hit the line really well.
“Going back to when she won the Widden Stakes and the day Vancouver won the Canonbury, both races were run on the same day and she ran half a second faster overall and her sectional time was faster than Vancouver’s.
“She probably went into that (the Reisling Stakes) not at 100 percent because she was coming off a five week break and two and a half weeks on the water walker.
“I reckon she paraded as if the race was going to improve and the next day after the race her coat looked better and (owner) John Camilleri was here on Sunday and couldn’t believe the improvement she had made in looks from the previous run to Sunday morning.
“Yesterday morning he called in on his way to the barrier draw and he reckons her coat had improved from the gallop on Sunday morning and the filly is really well.”
Fireworks is currently available at 2015 Golden Slipper odds of $34 with Ladbrokes, while Vancouver ($3) remains a clear favourite from Exosphere ($4) and Headwater ($11).
