She Will Reign (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}), the unbeaten favourite for the Mar. 19 G1 Golden Slipper, put in another eye-catching performance in her stakes debut in Saturday's G2 Silver Slipper S. at Rosehill. Conditions were far from ideal for the Darby Racing representative–she was faced with a soft track and had to come from way out of it after missing the break–but she nonetheless came home a 1 1/2-length winner. Getting as far as 10 lengths back after exiting the barriers last, She Will Reign gobbled up ground on the rail rounding the turn and was full of run with just a length left to make up at the top of the stretch. Responding when shaken up by Ben Melham at the 300 metre mark, She Will Reign cruised to the lead and held off Godolphin's Veranillo (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) with the minimum of fuss. Showtime (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), the A$1.1-million full-brother to Group 1 winner Sweet Idea (Aus), was third.
Scott Darby of Darby Racing said, “It was heart-in-mouth stuff, but she's a star, an absolute superstar and she proved that again today. It was too wet for her in the Inglis Nursery, too far for her today–the potters can find a reason to take her on but she's our fairytale filly and bring on the Golden Slipper.”
She Will Reign's half-sister by first-season sire Shamus Award (Aus) will be offered at the Inglis Easter yearling sale in April.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
