Last year‘s Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign will return to the scene of her greatest triumph when she gallops in between races at Rosehill on Saturday.
She Will Reign claimed the greatest two year old prize when she won the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill during the 2017 Sydney Autumn Carnival and will return there to gallop on the course proper as she prepares for a first up run in the $250,000 Inglis Sprint (1100m) at Warwick Farm on February 10.
The Manhattan Rain filly will then head to Melbourne for the Group 1 $500,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield on February 24.
Warwick Farm trainer Gary Portelli has given She Will Reign one barrier trial this preparation for a second to the speedy Super Too over 800m on her home track on January 15 and opted for a race day gallop as opposed to a second barrier trial.
“She’s ticking away exactly where we expect a horse of her ability to be at,” Portelli told AAP.
“You’d expect her to trial the way she trialled. Obviously if she had trialled worse than that I would have been worried, but she did exactly what we wanted her to.
“She’s probably just going to have a gallop between races on Saturday at Rosehill rather than having a barrier trial next Monday.
“It’s just to get her to the track again for a nice gallop and then she’ll race at Warwick Farm on the 10th (in the Inglis Sprint).
“If she races well there she’ll head to Melbourne for the Oakleigh Plate.”
She Will Reign carried her Group 1 winning two year old form into her three year old year with a sensational come from behind first up win in the Group 1 $500,000 Charter Keck Cramer Moir Stakes (1000m) at The Valley during the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival.
She Will Reign was then pitted against the best sprinters in the country but faded in the straight to finish eleventh of twelve behind Redzel in the inaugural running of the $10m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 14 and was sent for a break.