View Full Version : Oh, that Golden Slipper 2004!
Piecing together slipper puzzle
By Darren Prendergast
January 19, 2004
Following slashing wins by Dance Hero and Commands Nothin' in rich sales-restricted races during the past fortnight, trainer Bruce McLachlan concedes the pressure is on as the Golden Slipper puzzle begins to take some sort of shape.
McLachlan has impressive debut winner Crimson Reign among the main contenders for the world's richest two-year-old sprint, at Rosehill on April 3. The Caloundra-based trainer said at the weekend that his star filly had come back into work at Randwick "looking strong" after a four-week break.
"She has been back for a couple of weeks," McLachlan said. "She is just going along steady at this stage. She will resume in about seven weeks.
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"She looks terrific. She has always been a nice filly, but she has come back in great order."
Crimson Reign showcased its Golden Slipper credentials with a convincing win at Rosehill on November 29 - the same day Golden Slipper favourite Not A Single Doubt blitzed its rivals in the males division of a two-year-old open handicap.
While Not A Single Doubt pushed on to win the Strawberry Hill Slipper and listed Canonbury Stakes in December, before suffering its first defeat at the hooves of Dance Hero in the Magic Millions two weeks ago, Crimson Reign was enjoying a short spell.
Crimson Reign is one of a number of highly touted Golden Slipper prospects - including the John O'Shea-trained Breeders' Plate winner Charge Forward and Lee Freedman's filly Alinghi - to have skipped a summer campaign to prepare for the high-pressure build-up towards the slipper.
"I thought the Magic Millions winner [Dance Hero] and runner-up [Not A Single Doubt] looked like smart horses," McLachlan said.
"But it is hard for them to keep going. With my filly, she had a run, then went for a break and will come back onto the scene nice and fresh.
"It is a real balancing act with two-year-olds. But I'm happy with my filly's progress."
Trainer Barbara Joseph will give her undefeated filly Commands Nothin' a two-week break after it demolished rivals to win the Inglis Classic at Warwick Farm on Saturday.
While the males - Not A Single Doubt and Dance Hero, both of which will have a few easy weeks after their Magic Millions efforts - head the betting for the Golden Slipper, the fillies increased their presence at the top end of race's markets following wins by Commands Nothin' and the Tony McEvoy-trained Zilzie, a debut winner at Caulfield on Saturday.
After riding Clarry Conners's filly Segments into second behind Commands Nothin' on Saturday, jockey Larry Cassidy, the regular rider of Not A Single Doubt, said he felt the Magic Millions form would prove a stronger guide than the Inglis.
When making her debut at Rosehill, Crimson Reign produced impressive race figures that compared favourably with Not A Single Doubt on the same day. The pair ran almost identical times in their respective 1100-metre races on a track that was dead.
Crimson Reign, which carried 55 kilograms, covered the 1100m in one minute and 04.30 seconds, with a final 600m sectional of 34.49s, while Not A Single Doubt, carrying 1kg more, ran the same journey in 1:04.31, coming home over the last 600m in 34.71s.
Significantly, Crimson Reign and fellow topline fillies Alinghi, Commands Nothin', Zilzie and stablemate One World will receive a 3kg weight advantage over the males in the slipper. During recent years, the fillies have dominated the Golden Slipper, winning the past four in succession. Last year, fillies filled the top six positions.
This is a fact not lost on McLachlan, who is likely to kick-off Crimson Reign's Golden Slipper tilt in the Sweet Embrace Stakes at Canterbury on March 13, this being one of two starts before the slipper.
"The fillies get a nice weight pull in the slipper," he observed. "But I don't really know whether there is much between the colts and fillies. They will all start sorting themselves out over the next few months.
"I'll start watching them [two-year-old races] closely from here on in. The pressure's on."
Throw in that nine of the top-20 slipper contenders have won their only starts this season - and John Hawkes and Gai Waterhouse are yet to race their highly touted youngsters Dane Shadow and Monterrico - you can rest assured there are many more twists and turns to come before this year's Golden Slipper puzzle is solved.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/18/1074360632476.html
Super filly to be based at the Farm
Melbourne's star two-year-old Alinghi is on her way to Sydney and will be based at Warwick Farm, while on her mission for a Golden Slipper.
Trainer Lee Freedman said: "Her work has been good and she looks in great shape."
Alinghi is due to trial at the Farm next Friday.
"She's been nominated," said Freedman.
"She will then have a gallop before her next start in the Group II Reisling Slipper Trial (1100m) ."
Jockey Damien Oliver, who's ridden Alinghi at all of her three career starts (and wins), is expected to fly to Sydney to partner her in the trial.
Alinghi is currently a $3.25 favourite for the AAMI Golden Slipper Stakes with TAB Limited.
By: Jo Adams - Friday, March 05, 2004
By Darren Prendergast
March 11, 2004
Gai Waterhouse's highly touted colt Assafa may be thrown straight into the $3 million Golden Slipper should it make a winning debut in the Black Opal Stakes at Canberra on Saturday.
Waterhouse confirmed her classy Danehill youngster would make its debut in the $200,000 Black Opal after being scratched from a $20,000 maiden plate at Randwick yesterday.
No horse has ever won the Black Opal at its first start, nor taken out a Golden Slipper after making its debut at such a late stage. However, Golden Slipper-winning jockey Danny Beasley believes Assafa has the credentials to make a late bid for the world's richest two-year-olds' race at Rosehill on April 3.
"He's a very nice horse," Beasley said yesterday at Randwick where he rode a winning double, including Water-house first-starter, Samboy, in the opening event.
"I've ridden Assafa in all his work and trials and he has shown good promise."
Beasley is in a good position to judge whether Assafa has the potential to emerge a surprise Golden Slipper contender having won the juvenile classic aboard Polar Success last year. In the two years prior to that, Beasley finished third aboard Red Hannigan (2001) and runner-up on Victory Vein (2002).
"I think on his trackwork and trials he [Assafa] would compare favourably with colts I've ridden [in the slipper] such as Phoenix Park [fourth in 2000] and Red Hannigan," Beasley said. "He's got a fair bit of character about him."
Assafa has impressed in its two trials leading up to its debut outing in the nation's capital.
In its latest barrier trial, Assafa finished an eye-catching runner-up to Golden Slipper second favourite Not A Single Doubt at Warwick Farm on March 5. Despite its trackwork and trial promise, the colt will face a different test on raceday, according to Beasley.
"It'll be something totally new for him," Beasley said. "He has to travel to Canberra, handle the trip, then race for the first time. It will be a good test for him on a number of levels."
Assafa was among 14 final acceptors yesterday for the Black Opal Stakes. Beasley couldn't remember having ever ridden in the Black Opal Stakes and will be delighted if he can give Waterhouse her first success in the 1200-metre sprint.
Assafa is also likely to face the added pressure of being favourite for the race should rival trainer John O'Shea decide to reserve St Pirian for a clash with Waterhouse's Magic Millions winner Dance Hero in the Skyline Stakes at Canterbury on Saturday night.
"The Black Opal isn't an easy race to win," Beasley said, noting Dubai-bound sprinter Exceed And Excel was unable to win the race last year when edged out by Handsome Ransom.
"But I'm confident the horse will run well," he said. "If he can repeat what he has shown in his track and trials then he should be hard to beat."
The Frank Cleary-trained Catbird is the only Black Opal Stakes winner to go on and win the Golden Slipper. It completed the double in 1999.
Warwick Farm trainer Joseph Pride celebrated the addition of Murphy's Blu Boy to his stable by combining with the colt's owners - Geoff and Brian Roddy - and their mare, Magic Duck, to win a race at Randwick yesterday.
Magic Duck carried the colours - red, green chevrons, black cap - Murphy's Blu Boy will wear when it makes its first appearance for Pride in a barrier trial at Rosehill next week.
Graeme Rogerson trained his first Golden Slipper winner last year with Polar Success and is gearing up for his second with a strong team of juveniles including Flying Firebird who runs in Saturday's Black Opal Stakes (1200m) at Canberra.
The filly put in the only bad run of her five-start career when last in the Gosford Slipper on February 4 but bounced back with an emphatic four-length victory over 1000m at Canberra on February 27.
Rogerson believes Not A Single Doubt is his best chance for the $3 million Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on April 3 and is also keen for Flying Firebird to take her place in the field.
"The three kilos the fillies get off the colts in the Slipper is an advantage," Rogerson said.
"She's done very well and I'm looking forward to her running on Saturday.
"I've never won the Black Opal and I think Saturday will be my first.
"She won very well down there last time. She's got barrier three which is also good and Jimmy Cassidy rides her.
"She'll go well."
The Gai Waterhouse-trained Assafa will be aiming to win the Black Opal at his first start and will go straight into the Slipper if he is successful.
At his only public appearance, Assafa ran second to Slipper second favourite Not A Single Doubt in a Randwick barrier trial with the pair putting a gap on their rivals.
John O'Shea will not decide until later this week whether St Pirian runs in the Black Opal or the Skyline Stakes at Canterbury on Saturday night with the weather the determining factor.
Rogerson will run Econsul in the Skyline and Burning Sands in the fillies feature, the Sweet Embrace Stakes.
He and Cassidy will also combine with Maskerado in the National Sprint (1400m) on the Canberra program where the gelding's rivals include This Manshood and Ain't Seen Nothin'.
The Barbara Joseph-trained Ain't Seen Nothin' will be out to give the trainer some compensation after her Inglis Classic-winning half-sister Commands Nothin' was ruled out of the rest of the autumn due to injury.
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Unbeaten filly Alizes has suffered a setback in her preparation for the Golden Slipper Stakes and will miss an important lead-up race at Canterbury on Saturday night.
Trainer Tony McEvoy did not declare Alizes an acceptor for Saturday night's Sweet Embrace Stakes at Canterbury after the filly required treatment for an infection.
Alizes had been under a cloud since she failed to accompany her stablemate Keep The Faith to Canterbury for a track gallop on Tuesday morning.
However McEvoy is still hoping to qualify Alizes for a start in the $3 million AAMI Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill on April 10.
She has recorded impressive wins in her only two starts in Melbourne but still requires more prizemoney to be assured of a Golden Slipper berth.
McEvoy told Sport 927 on Thursday that he hopes to run Alizes in either the Reisling Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday week or the Illawarra Classic at Kembla Grange on March 24.
By Max Presnell
March 13, 2004
With Desert War scratched from the Canterbury Guineas, trainer Gai Waterhouse will rely on talented two-year-olds Dance Hero, Esther and Assafa to keep the stable flag flying today.
Waterhouse is chasing a clean sweep of the major juvenile events, with Dance Hero and Esther short-priced favourites in their races at Canterbury tonight, while Assafa is making his debut against strong opposition in the Black Opal Stakes at Canberra.
The best of the Waterhouse trio is Dance Hero - winner of two out of three, including the Magic Millions - in the Skyline Stakes. While Dance Hero is a natural speedster, his opposition lack tactical pace. This counts against major rivals Gator, Fastnet Rock and Econsul, which would be suited by a strong tempo.
Esther is a hot favourite for the Sweet Embrace Stakes, which is not up to its usual standard tonight, but the filly looks more vulnerable than Dance Hero.
Esther, only a small two-year-old, is backing up after a torrid fourth to Crimson Reign in the Kindergarten Stakes at Warwick Farm last Saturday. She began slowly and then pulled hard, so to go down by less than two lengths was a good performance.
Waterhouse has added blinkers to the filly's gear to stop her pulling. Still, the question is how well has she recovered from last week's demanding task?
Even though placed only once in three starts, Esther is the form horse in the Sweet Embrace as she has been racing in much stronger company. Sure, Dancing Bridges was a last-start winner over the Canterbury 1200 metres but this followed a Wyong defeat. Also, Dancing Bridges has to overcome the 10 gate.
Written By Xaar scored at her only start in class-record time, but usually a Kembla Grange success - for which she earned $5850 - isn't a worthwhile credential for the $140,000 Sweet Embrace, which carries group 3 status.
Making his debut today, Assafa chases the major prizemoney of the day for youngsters in the $200,000 Black Opal. Waterhouse has tuned Assafa with two recent barrier trials in which he indicated above-average ability.
The Danehill colt is taking on St Pirian, another Danehill two-year-old, and Flying Firebird, a filly more seasoned than the colts, having had five starts. VERDICT: Dance Hero looks good but try a quinella with Gator if you must bet. Gamble on the potential of Written By Xaar over Esther and stick with the raw ability of Assafa.
Alinghi no good thing
Randwick clocker Craig Tompson is tipping Crimson Reign ahead of Alinghi in tomorrow's Slipper showdown in the Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill.
"Crimson Reign is flying and her sectionals in both her wins have been outstanding," Tompson said.
"She wasn't wound-up when resuming in the Kindergarten yet she still won so I cannot find a reason why she won't beat Alinghi."
Tompson said he was concerned with Alinghi's trial last Friday at Warwick Farm.
"She was under a hold down the straight but she definitely would have hung in had she been let go," he said.
In early betting, www.sportodds.com has Alinghi at $1.80 and Crimson Reign at $4.50.
Wager ($5) and One World ($8) are the only other runners under double figures.
By: Racenet - Friday, 19 March 2004
http://www.racenet.com.au/NewsImages/Racehorses/Alinghi.jpg
Alinghi pre-race
Bookmakers reacted quickly to Melbourne filly Alinghi’s win in the Reisling Slipper at Rosehill today and she will start a dominant favourite in the Golden Slipper Stakes.
Any Slipper doubts about Alinghi were quickly dispelled when she raced away by two lengths from Crimson Reign with Ballybleue a top third, a half length away after settling last early.
In fact, so impressive was Alinghi she was installed a $2.50 Slipper favourite straight after the race by sportodds.com.
The real clue to her Slipper dominance is that she ran 0.51 seconds faster than Charge Forward in the colts division yet gets a 3kg allowance in the Slipper.
Beaten trainer Bruce McLachlan summed up well on how most trainers with Slipper hopefuls probably feel.
“The winner is one out of the box – she will need to run into a dead-end in the Slipper for us to win,” he said after Crimson Reign’s second.
But McLachlan says his filly is open to improvement and of course the barrier draw always plays a significant role.
Trainer Lee Freedman’s main interest was in the time and he was delighted once he became aware his filly ran much quicker time, particularly the final 600m, than Charge Forward.
Damien Oliver’s thoughts were interesting: “There’s no certainties in racing but she’s as good a Slipper mount as you will get.”
By: Racenet - Saturday, 20 March 2004
:eek: :eek: :eek:
John O’Shea’s colt Charge Forward emerged as a genuine Golden Slipper hope when he left Not A Single Doubt in his wake to win the Todman Slipper Trial (1200m) at Rosehill today.
Charge Forward gave a firm indication he is ready-made Slipper horse by leading throughout to beat Dane Shadow by two lengths win Samboy a long head away third.
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Not A Single Doubt, the $1.70 favourite, looked well above himself in condition before the race and after a soft run to the turn struggled for fourth.
Assessing this race from a Slipper viewpoint, Charge Forward looks the goods.
“He’s a very classy colt,” rider Darren Beadman said. “I had to make two runs on him as he wanted to spit out the bit when we jumped so I had to hunt him along.
“But he was strong at the finish and that’s the sign you want to see.”
The clue to Charge Forward’s chances will be the barrier draw. Given a good gate, he has the speed to box-seat behind the speed and he will run the distance right out.
Dane Shadow fought on well but on today’s effort it is hard to imagine him turning the tables on the winner.
By: Racenet - Saturday, 20 March 2004
Prizemoney order for the Golden Slipper (http://www.stc.com.au/page.asp?id=526)
Jockey Glen Boss was thinking long-term when he opted off Ballybleue in Saturday week’s Golden Slipper ahead of Fastnet Rock.
Ballybleue, a top third to Alinghi in Saturday’s Reisling Slipper, is guaranteed a Slipper start whereas Fastnet Rock is 22 in the order of entry.
“But I think Fastnet Rock could develop into a top horse so I want to stick with him,” Boss said.
Fastnet Rock will attempt to gain a Slipper berth on Saturday in the Pago Page Stakes (1200m), which has attracted 17 nominations including Dance Hero.
The lucky recipient of Boss’s decision is Hugh Bowman, who now handles Ballybleue in the Slipper.
The filly did impress on Saturday as she left no doubt she will run a very strong 1200m and cope with the helter skelter of the race.
By: Racenet - Monday, 22 March 2004
By Max Presnell
March 29, 2004
Finding a logical argument, beyond the great uncertainty of racing, why wonderful Melbourne filly Alinghi can be beaten in next Saturday's Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens is difficult.
Despite it usually being littered with interference because jockeys ride boldly in quest of the rich prize, few good things have been beaten in the 1200-metre speed test.
Sure, it's not a good race for favourites, with the latest to score Courtza 15 years ago.
Yet the question with Alinghi, winner of her only four starts, is just how are they going to beat her? Especially with the three-kilogram weight pull the fillies enjoy over the colts and geldings.
Barrier positions are important but gates outside 10 have provided a reasonable percentage of winners in more recent times.
History shows the unluckiest horse in the slipper was Imagele, the 4-9 favourite in 1973 which had won his previous six races. In a skirmish at the 800m mark, Imagele clipped the heels of a rival and fell. Tontonan, later to prove an outstanding sprinter, won the race but had been beaten 5 lengths by Imagele at his previous start, in the Todman Slipper Trial.
Track conditions can prove a drawback and Rosehill the past two Saturdays has had a slower section near the rails despite good lead-up weather. But, as Alinghi emphasised in the Reisling Stakes last Saturday week, this played perfectly into her "down the outside" racing pattern.
Even the circumstances that stopped Crown Jester, another strong fancy which was beaten, were extreme. Crown Jester, raced by the late Big Jack and Bob Ingham, was an outstanding two-year-old and went into the 1981 Golden Slipper with five successes under his ample girth. Alas, the colt was confronted with a quagmire surface but still held favouritism at 6-4. Had the ground been good he would have been odds-on.
After the youngster finished a floundering fifth trainer Vic Thompson commented: "On a firm surface Crown Jester would have won with a leg in the air."
Thus the danger to Alinghi is not so much the ability of rivals as it is freak circumstances.
Slipper assault with no battery
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/03/30/3103horse.jpg
March 31, 2004
The baker's boy and an owner in search of an electrified saddle are living the Golden Slipper dream.
Mario Caltabiano never did like the bakehouse, preferring to ride ponies. The 52-year-old former jockey is now training racehorses.
Roy Levy is 72. A former property developer, he started in this game with a share in a racehorse prepared by a legend named Tommy Smith. That was in 1960, and now Caltabiano is his man.
Their Golden Slipper player is a filly named She's In Demand, which Levy bred. Working at Caltabiano's Warwick Farm complex, which includes 10 boxes, are former jockeys Sean Stepetz and one Sammy Mezzasalma.
Now, Mezzasalma has a place in racing folklore - and Caltabiano remembers it well.
"He got life, ended up doing eight years," Caltabiano recalled. "There was a battery in the saddle, it was in a race, it was 1969. Poor old Samboy, he was only trying to win."
At yesterday's barrier draw for Saturday's $3 million Golden Slipper, Levy and Caltabiano found time to reflect, to live the dream. Levy had plucked a miniature Golden Slipper bearing the number three on the bottom, which means She's In Demand will have two horses inside her when the frenetic sprint is launched around 3.45pm on Saturday.
The owner reckons the search for Sammy's saddle continues. "Sammy hasn't used the magic saddle on her yet," he said, before adding quickly: "We've lost the saddle."
There was laughter all round, for these hardened racegoers know such devices are a thing of the past. When Caltabiano kicked off in racing it was as a lad not yet 14.
"I left school to get into the stables, I just loved horses," Caltabiano recalled. "I got a pony when I was seven years old, there used to be paddocks everywhere."
Caltabiano was talking about the surrounds of Canterbury racecourse, which are now full of housing and other developments. A time long past but certainly not forgotten.
"I got an apprenticeship and Gay Gauntlet was my first winner at Randwick," Caltabiano said. "I beat George Moore on the favourite, it was a great thrill.
"I had a bit of success until weight beat me; had around 200 rides and rode 30-odd winners."
Caltabiano then got a job at Marrickville RSL, where he ended up as a supervisor working the night shift. It allowed him to work a couple of horses at Canterbury, where Mezzasalma did most of the riding.
"In 1991 I got a brainwave to be a real horse trainer," Caltabiano said. "I sold my home at Brighton Beach and gave away my real job to buy my stables at Warwick Farm. That was my dream. It wasn't about money, I'd made a good living . . . I just wanted to train horses full-time and fortunately my wife, Debbie, allowed me to do it, fulfil the dream."
Not long after, Levy, who has owned "hundreds of horses", entered the Warwick Farm trainer's life via an introduction from jockey Craig Carmody.
"Mario is a very patient trainer, very frustrating for me," Levy said with a laugh. "Takes a long time to get a horse to the track. You never worry about Mario breaking a horse down, he doesn't train them hard enough! No, he's fantastic."
Levy paid $20,000 for a New Zealand mare named Livorno in 1994. Her first foal was Tiber, the next two died before Capri and She's In Demand came along.
"Paul Thompson rang me from Barramul Stud a couple of days after she was born and said she was a cracker," Levy said.
Caltabiano remembers it well. "Roy said we better nominate for the Slipper - it was half a joke to nominate her," he said. "As a young horse on the track she threw Sammy. She was giving older horses 30 lengths' start and picked them up and ran past them. I rang Roy and said 'I think this filly can run a bit, you better keep paying up for the Slipper'."
Levy said: "It's just a dream to run in the Golden Slipper."
Caltabiano knows exactly what the owner is talking about.
"What else is there after racing?" he asked. "You can dream in racing, sometimes they come true. You can have all the money in the world and not enjoy it. You can have not much money, be in racing and love it . . . We are all equal on the turf, we just need the right horse. Hopefully I've got one."
That's She's In Demand. Now where's that saddle?
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/30/1080544494283.html
By Darren Prendergast and John Schell
March 31, 2004
A strong workout at Randwick and a "perfect" barrier draw yesterday ensured the Lee Freedman-trained filly Alinghi retained a stranglehold on Saturday's $3 million Golden Slipper.
Alinghi drew barrier 11 in the 15-horse field that will chase the world's richest prize for two-year-olds at Rosehill. The undefeated filly was one of seven Slipper hopefuls to have their final serious hit-outs at Randwick.
Alinghi's part-owner Robert Slade said barrier 11 was an ideal launching pad for the Blue Diamond winner, which will be aiming to give Freedman his fifth Golden Slipper win and jockey Damien Oliver his first.
"Barrier 11 is probably perfect because it will allow Ollie to balance her up, he can see what is going on in the race and you are not a target out there," Slade said. "She deserves to be favourite, but as Damien and Lee keep saying, they don't give [Slippers] away. She has still got a race to run."
Alinghi, a firm $2.10 favourite, tuned up for her Slipper assignment scooting over 600 metres in 34.3 seconds, with her final 200m in 11.4s under heavyweight track rider Scott McGee.
"Lee rang me this morning and said she worked fantastic, under a stranglehold," Slade said. "Lee couldn't be happier. Everything has gone beautifully."
The betting, with Alinghi quoted from $2.10 up to $2.25 favourite, suggests bookies believe barrier 11 won't hinder her chances of becoming the first favourite to win since the Ross McDonald-trained Courtza in 1989. McDonald's hopes of a second Slipper win rest with Tahni Girl, which drew 14.
Gai Waterhouse, who trained the trifecta in the 2001 Slipper, was all smiles after Dance Hero and Wager drew barriers two and four respectively. Waterhouse rated Magic Millions winner Dance Hero as her best chance. Dance Hero had the better of Wager, which finished runner-up to Alinghi in the Blue Diamond, in a workout at Randwick yesterday.
"You are never confident until you are over the line, but we are really pleased with the horses," she said, adding Alinghi remained the horse to beat. "Their final workout this morning was great and they look well. We couldn't have asked for better barriers."
Asked what her instructions would be to jockeys Chris Munce (Dance Hero) and Danny Beasley (Wager), Waterhouse quipped: "I'll tell them to win the race and make sure they quinella it."
Dance Hero heads into the Slipper with the fastest winning 1200m time by a two-year-old this season - 1 minute 08.75 seconds when leading throughout to win the Magic Millions in January.
Darren Beadman, who will partner Lonhro in the group 1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday, pumped his fist to the crowd at Martin Place yesterday after he drew barrier five for his Slipper mount Charge Forward.
"We brought Darren in to give us some divine intervention and we got it," Charge Forward's part-owner Peter Horwitz said.
Queensland filly Crimson Reign drifted in betting after drawing the only barrier (13) not to have produced a Slipper winner, while trainer John Hawkes was pleased with Dane Shadow drawing the rails alley.
"Barrier one is a help, it's always good to draw good barriers in big races," Hawkes said.
Meanwhile, Freedman will rely on Caulfield Cup winner Mummify to win the $2 million The BMW after opting against starting top-class filly Special Harmony. Special Harmony will instead contest the group 1 Arrowfield Stud Stakes on Saturday before she tackles the colts in the AJC Australian Derby at Randwick the following week.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/30/1080544494310.html
Golden Slipper hotpot Alinghi hasd a leisurely gallop at Randwick today to finalise her preparation for Saturday’s $3m dash at Rosehill.
Alinghi strode over 800m in 57.8 but was given a taqd more rein in the straight to zip up the last 200m in an impressive 13.
“She looks a treat and Lee (Freedman) has got her spot on for Saturday,” Randwick clocker Craig Tompson said.
Alinghi has been the stand-out two-year-old throughout the season. Her only danger, according to most experts is bad luck.
Equal second favourite Charge Forward also ventured on the gallop arena this morning but Tompson said he was never off the bit.
"He ran a similar time to Alinghi for 800m in 57.5 but his last furlong was only 14," he said.
Dance Hero, Gai Waterhouse's best hope, was restricted to a trot and canter around the centre of Randwick.
By: Racenet - Thursday, 1 April 2004
Handy Harry
03-04-2004, 07:59
SLIPPER SUCCESS: How strong is the form from the 2003 Golden Slipper? Polar Success, the winner, has not won since. Runner-up How Funny is racing in the US after being declared a bleeder, but third placegetter Hasna went on to win two group 1s: the AJC Sires' Produce and Champagne Stakes.
To back up Hasna and the strength of the Slipper form, three of the unplaced two-year-olds have been superb when you take into account Exceed And Excel's two group 1 wins since, three group 1s for Niello and the win of Shamekha in the group 1 Coolmore Classic a fortnight ago.
Handy Harry
03-04-2004, 08:02
For drama and excitement you can't beat the Slipper
April 2, 2004
Golden Slipper Stakes day is the best day's racing in Australia. The toughest, most exciting and controversial. Remember Tierce, the "jockey tapes" and record fines?
Winning a Slipper with a well-bred colt can change the lives of those associated with the horse.
Every racing fan knows the Slipper has its own mystique. Enchantment lies in the race itself, not fashions on the field, not the sexist advertisements and so on.
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Think of the greats to have won. There was Vain, probably the fastest horse seen in this country. Manikato, a champion sprinter from two until he finished at seven. Remember Todman, Baguette, Marscay, Bounding Away, the only two-year-old filly to be voted Australia's horse of the year? What about Canny Lad, Danzero, Flying Spur- each a wonderful success at stud. And so on it goes.
George Ryder no doubt is looking down with great satisfaction. He always wanted the Sydney Turf Club to have a special race of its own. The Golden Slipper is that.
The race has its critics. Over the years I've been one of them. Jim Fleming was a supportive chairman to the stewards and only once did we have a little disagreement.
I was of the view a change to 1400 metres would make the Slipper a better race and take away the demolition derby reputation it has. The chairman would have none of it. Well, I still believe I was right.
Work started in Sydney for me on the Monday after Marscay won his Golden Slipper in 1982. For the next 13 years I had the best seat in the house. And almost every year there was a drama of some sort.
Our decision to allow the Clarry Conners-trained Tierce to retain the Golden Slipper in 1991 after it returned a positive to lignocaine created plenty of brickbats.
There were just as many bouquets. To fully explain the reason for using the discretion allowed would require much more time and space than we have here. Let me just say it was one of the most gut-wrenching decisions I had been involved in as a steward. First we had to decide if the Conners family were telling us the truth. We believed they were.
Contributing factors were that analytical techniques had changed from the previous year and the stable's honest, mistaken belief that the mouthwash being used on Tierce was OK because it had been used many times before without any problems. These days no discretion is allowed. All horses that return positives must be disqualified. The owners do not have to be present and kindergarten kids could run the inquiry.
Mandatory sentencing is, in my strong opinion, quite stupid. Owners keep the sport going and should at least be able to argue their case. Everyone would agree horses that return a positive should be disqualified but once or twice in a lifetime something unique happens and a sport should have the courage at that time to stand up and be counted and not hide behind a mandatory rule.
In some so-called high-class racing countries which do call for mandatory disqualification, only about seven drugs are tested for.
Everybody who has the power to penalise should have tattooed inside their head the old saying: "Never say never and never say always."
Tennis authorities had enough guts to clear Greg Rusedski after he returned a positive to nandrolone.
The Tierce decision was absolutely the correct one, although the late CSHayes, who trained Canonise, the second placegetter, would never accept it was.
Just after Tierce won the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes, I went into hospital for brain surgery. Mr Hayes always reckoned they should have performed a transplant.
In the spring of 1994 I became aware there were some explosive audio tapes about. This was discussed with the then AJC committee. It quite rightly said it was none of my business.
The committee might have been right but I was far from happy. I did discuss the issue with several people I knew had been recorded.
They assured me that, while some interesting stuff could possibly be heard on the tapes, nothing untoward had happened on track.
Neville Wran once said of phone tapping: "I don't like it and haven't got sufficient faith in the law-enforcement authorities for them to be given the right to invade people's privacy." He did go on to say there were some situations in which phone taps might be acceptable. But these were rare because phone taps can be, and mostly are, used for the wrong reasons.
If you read a transcript of a tap it can seem damning. But if the passage is said with a smirk on your face, it means not much at all.
Before the Slipper of 1995 I had been talking with a kind of deep throat who had copies of the transcripts of these infamous tapes.
The police had been listening to alleged drug offenders and some licensed racing people became caught up in it.
My contact arranged to drop the transcripts over my fence at Kensington in the early hours the day before the Slipper. So about 1am on the Friday there was a rattle at the door.
I was up until about 4am. Two hours' sleep and the phone rang. A senior AJC committeeman asked if I'd seen that morning's Herald.
No was the answer. Well, he said, you'd better go and get one and call me back. I did this and arranged to meet the full committee at 9am. Before this meeting I had arranged for the trusted Frank Martin to be at the office with a full team of his shorthand writers. We began our inquiries about 10am. As you know, Jim Cassidy was advised not to front. So we disqualified him for six months for refusing to attend an inquiry. He appealed and applied for a stay of proceedings. This was refused by the AJC committee.
We carried on working on other issues pertaining to the tapes all day and into the night. About midnight, when Martin and his team were up to date, I crashed.
You can imagine the media crush at the races the next day. During the night I had approved Glen Boss to replace Cassidy on Flying Spur. Naturally, we were anxious for the race to go off well. It was one of the best-run Slippers on record. It is history that Flying Spur and Boss won, beating an unlucky Octagonal. On returning to scale Boss was crying. His wife, who was pregnant, was emotional. Richard Freedman of the winning stable collapsed and the entire mounting yard was in uproar.
I, too, was out to it and was not able to weigh in the jockeys. I had to escape to a washroom to compose myself. My deputy, Ian Patterson, kept the show on the road.
Before the race, Lee Freedman had been having trouble with Flying Spur, for it seemed as if the horse had a mind of its own.
Some thought was given to gelding the colt. John Messara, a part-owner, decreed there was more chance of Freedman being cut than there was of Flying Spur.
The "jockey tapes" affair carried over into the next week. With the AJC driving everyone, it was all wrapped up, appeals heard and before the racing appeals tribunal in double quick time. That was the way they wanted things done. Take your medicine and get on with life.
While no criminal charges were brought, the AJC outed Cassidy for bringing racing into disrepute and he spent 18 months on the sidelines. Two other jockeys served lesser terms for race tipping.
Saturday's Slipper will be another exciting affair.
Let's hope for those who have worked so hard to put it on that all goes well.
John Schreck is a former chief steward of the Australian Jockey Club and Hong Kong Jockey Club.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/01/1080544634979.html
Handy Harry
05-04-2004, 09:29
By Darren Prendergast
April 5, 2004
Jockey Glen Boss has a strong chance of a group 1 double at Randwick on Saturday after securing the ride on Gai Waterhouse's Golden Slipper winner Dance Hero in the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes.
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Waterhouse confirmed Boss would fill in for Slipper-winning jockey Chris Munce in the second leg of the two-year-olds' triple crown. Munce will miss the ride through suspension.
Boss was also due to be sidelined for Saturday's meeting but had one meeting shaved off a two-meeting suspension on appeal last Thursday. The altered sentence cleared the way for Boss to stick with crack Gold Coast colt Starcraft in the $2 million AJC Australian Derby on Saturday.
Munce, who will return to partner Dance Hero in the group 1 Champagne Stakes at Randwick on April 17, was adamant the gelding had the triple crown at his mercy following his all-the-way win in the Golden Slipper.
"He'll win the triple crown," he declared last night. "Glen will win on [him] on Saturday and he [Dance Hero] will win the Champagne [Stakes]. He's the best two-year-old I've ever ridden."
Waterhouse agreed the triple crown was well within reach. "I've been fortunate enough to have had two champion two-year-olds in Assertive Lad [2000] and Hasna [2003] and I think Dance Hero is right up there with them," she said. "He's the complete package and he is certainly capable of winning all three [group 1 races]."
Assertive Lad and Hasna went on to win the AJC Sires' Produce and Champagne Stakes after running third in their respective Golden Slippers. Dance Hero will be joined by stablemates Wager (Len Beasley) and Samboy (Danny Beasley) in the Sires' Produce.
"Wager seems to have overcome the leg problem that kept her out of the Slipper, while Samboy is a very nice horse in the making," Waterhouse said.
Beaten Golden Slipper favourite Alinghi will bypass a rematch with Dance Hero this week with trainer Lee Freedman favouring a start in the $1 million Heroic Championship at Randwick on Monday. "I'm leaning towards running her in the Heroic before sending her for a spell," Freedman said of his Blue Diamond winner, which was heavily backed before finishing third to Dance Hero.
Trainer John O'Shea is expected to back up his Slipper runner-up Charge Forward in the Sires' Produce, with Darren Beadman retaining the ride.
With Boss shifting to Dance Hero, trainer Paul Perry must find a new rider for Fastnet Rock in the Sires'. Boss rode Fastnet Rock into fourth in the Slipper.
"The only problem to come out of the race was he seemed to jar up over the last 50 metres," Perry said of his colt, which showed improvement with the addition of blinkers. "If he hadn't done that he may have run third.
"We will give him until Tuesday to see how he has got over the run. But if he is fine, then he will back up in the Sires'. I think the tempo of a 1400-metre race will suit him a lot better than the speed of the Slipper."
Waterhouse is likely to have up to four runners chasing her seventh win in the $2.5 million Doncaster Handicap on Monday. The trainer confirmed last year's winner Grand Armee (Danny Beasley), Platinum Scissors (Danny Nikolic) and Shower Of Roses (Munce) would start in the Doncaster, while Coolmore Classic winner Shamekha was also being considered for the race.
Beadman has been booked to ride the John Hawkes-trained Ambulance in the Doncaster.
The O'Shea-trained mare Private Steer remains favourite for the 1600m Doncaster after finishing third to Lonhro in the group 1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/04/1081017039271.html
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