She Will Reign remains the favourite for the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 18 despite suffering her first defeat at Randwick last Saturday.
She Will Reign, above, remains the favourite for the Golden Slipper at Rosehill. Photo buy Steve Hart.
The Gary Portelli trained She Will Reign was chasing her fourth win from four starts when sent out as the $1.40 favourite in the Group 2 $300,000 Affinity Shopping Reisling Stakes (1200m) but couldn’t keep her perfect winning record intact when second to Michael Freedman’s Frolic.
Ladbrokes.com.au have retained She Will Reign at the top of the Golden Slipper market order at $3.60 ahead of her main rival Houtzen at $4.40.
Portelli was satisfied with the run of She Will Reign who didn’t seem to handle the heavy Randwick track even though she had won the Restricted Listed $500,000 Inglis Nursery (1000m) at Randwick on December 17 on a heavy track and the Group 2 $250,000 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on February 18 on a soft 5.
“I thought she was getting through it but I didn’t think she was really handling it,” Poetelli said.
“She beat the others pretty well. We’ll just look after her between now and the Slipper and hopefully we get a better track.”
Portelli tweeted out on Sunday morning that She Will Reign had pulled up in good order and is still on track for the Golden Slipper.
“She Will Reign has pulled up remarkably well after her run yesterday. Ate up and went for a buck in the sand roll this morning.13days to go,” Portelli tweeted.
The Toby Edmonds trained Houtzen is also well on track for the Golden Slipper and did remain undefeated when she made it four from four with another effortless four lengths win with 63kg on her back in the 1000m 2yo Handicap at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
All of Houtzen’s four wins have been 1n Queensland and after winning two 2yo Handicap at Doomben and the Gold Coast, the I Am Invincible filly went on the lead all of the way to win the $2m Jeep Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 14 before having a short break.
Edmonds said that Houtzen has pulled up well after her stunning four lengths win at Eagle Farm and is confident that she is up to Golden Slipper class.
“She has recovered quite well and was fresh and bright (Sunday) morning,” Edmonds told Radio TAB’s Past The Post.
“The run wasn’t very tough. She actually didn’t want to pull up (on Saturday). She pulled up into the back straight, so she was quite keen to keep going, which was good.
“That’s what we wanted. We didn’t want a gut busting run.
“The Slipper will be another step up, but she did it Magic Millions Day so we know she can do it.”
The Peter and Paul Snowden trained Gunnison has crept up the Golden Slipper market order following his win over stablemate Invader in the Group 2 $300,000 UNSW Todman Stakes (1200m) at Randwick last Saturday.
The two Snowden youngsters crossed the line together with Gunnison getting the judge’s nod by a nose and is now rated a $15 chance in Golden Slipper betting while Invader is marked at $17.
Early market order for the Golden Slipper at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.60 She Will Reign, $4.40 Houtzen, $11 Catchy, Frolic, $13 Pariah, $15 Gunnison, Menari, Chauffeur, Trekking, $17 Invader, Muraaqeb, $21 Veranillo, Limbo Soul, $26 Formality, Jorda, Astoria, Condor Heroes, Serena Bay, Single Bullet, Tulip, Vinland, $34 or better the rest.
