2015 Golden Slipper Preview
A sensational day of racing greets Sydney this Saturday at Rosehill with five Group 1’s on offer on Golden Slipper Day.
The Golden Slipper is the world’s richest two-year old race and will feature 16 runners over 1,200 metres. The favourite for the Gai Waterhouse-trained Vancouver ($3.10 at Palmerbet) and Gai has shown nothing but pure confidence in the media by declaring a certain victory. The early money agreed with Gai after Vancouver was so impressive in his win in the G2 Todman Stakes. However when Vancouver drew the carpark in barrier 18, the price did drift a little. Can Vancouver get over and find cover? That will be the question and the challenge for jockey Tommy Berry. If he can overcome the barrier, then he will be tough to beat.
Can we find a challenger at a bit of value to take on Vancouver?
Exosphere ($4.20 at Bet365) looks the main danger following a classy victory in the in the G2 Skyline Stakes. He has an explosive turn of foot and looks to have drawn well.
English ($17.00 at Ladbrokes) is another chance for Gai Waterhouse and offers great each-way odds. Her win in the G2 Reisling, ahead of Ottoman ($41 at Sportsbet), is a often a good measure for the Golden Slipper.
Ready for Victory ($13 at Ladbrokes) might be another to cause an upset. Finished strongly to beat the highly-fancied Heatherly at Flemington, but the form is a little tricky to line up. Should enjoy the step up in distance but might find a few too classy.
Verdict: Vancouver looks a top chance but there’s a lot counting against him. Only three favourites in the last 20 years have won this race, and only two in that period have won from outside barrier 11. He will have to be ridden for luck, so we’re going to take him on. We’re going with Exosphere ($4.20 at Bet365) as our top pick ahead of English ($17.00 at Ladbrokes) as the value pick.
1st Exosphere
2nd Vancouver
3rd English
4th Ready for Victory
Other Tips
Rosehill Guineas (Race 5) – Hallowed Crown
George Ryder Stakes (Race 8) – World Ace
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
