A trio of Golden Slipper hopefuls reaffirmed their credentials on Saturday when winning stakes races cross country. At Randwick, Santos (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) earned high praise from trainer Gai Waterhouse after battling to a neck score in the G2 Skyline S. as the A$1.75 favourite (video).
“He's a serious chance in the Slipper–you back him all of you watching,” Waterhouse said. “The more he races the better he will be.”
“Will he get further? Will he ever-Triple Crown,” Waterhouse added. “He's a very versatile colt and I think there is a lot of improvement.”
Santos actually drifted slightly in the Slipper market off the win, going from $9 to $11 with TAB, but jockey Tim Clark said he thought the colt didn't necessarily handle the soft track.
One race later, the filly Seabrook (NZ) (Hinchinbrook {NZ}) took the G2 Sweet Embrace S. at A$7.50 for trainer Mick Price in a slightly faster time than Santos (1:10.96 versus 1:11.15), and is now a A$14 chance for the Slipper (video).
“I truly believe she will improve a lot with this run,” jockey Hugh Bowman told Racing NSW. “The conditions are quite testing with the strong head wind and moisture in the ground. But she was tough late. She has [Golden] Slipper written all over her.”
Trainer David Hayes told Racing.com he will consider the Slipper for Sheikh Hamdan's filly Nomothaj (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) after she won Flemington's Listed 3AW Is Football S. going 1000 metres as the A$3.40 favourite.
“I put her in the race mad fresh so she'll be really improved from the run,” Hayes said. “She'll head to Sydney but whether she runs in the Percy Sykes S. or we have another crack at Sunlight the week before the Slipper [G3 Magic Night S. on Mar. 17], we don't know. She might even go to the Slipper, I'll just have to talk with Sheikh Hamdan.”
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