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Tips by Brad Gray

Brad Gray profiles every runner in the $3.5 million Longines Golden Slipper at Rosehill on Saturday.

1. TAGALOA
   Trainer: Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young
   Jockey: Michael Walker

Was outstanding winner the Blue Diamond two runs back having been posted three wide in the worst going at Caulfield. The hot favourite Hanseatic peeled off his back but Tagaloa simply refused to lose. The challenge is getting the son of Lord Kanaloa to peak again but like that he has had a run in Sydney when allowed to balance up and hit the line strongly behind Farnan in the Todman. Showed in the Diamond that he relishes a fast tempo, and a scrap, so was encouraged to hear the tactics will be to make Farnan work early. That could be the winning move.

2. HANSEATIC
   Trainer: Anthony Freedman
   Jockey: Kerrin McEvoy

Had been the benchmark two-year-old heading into the Golden Slipper before having his colours lowered in the Blue Diamond. Gave his all, but was beaten by a better horse on the day. Does that still leave a tiny question mark over him running a strong 1200m? Would become the first horse since Courtza in 1989 win a Slipper coming straight off a Blue Diamond run. Won a Randwick trial but was made to work for it.

3. FARNAN
   Trainer: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott
   Jockey: Hugh Bowman

Won the Silver Slipper by 3.3L and then the Todman by 1.8L. Connections are entitled to be thinking what more a horse has to do to start favourite in the Golden Slipper? After he drew 14, the market reacted by winding him out. It looks a positive for a speed horse. Curiously, the last two winners in Kiamichi and Estijaab both jumped from 14, led and won. Can’t find many other natural leaders in the race besides from Mamaragan drawn the fence. Tagalo looks to hold the key to how easily Farnan crosses. Fits the Slipper profile.

4. PRAGUE
   Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
   Jockey: Tom Marquand

Tom Marquand’s standover style looks to get the best out of Prague. The $1.6m colt bounced back with the Englishman aboard in Saturday’s Pago Pago. Prague sat outside of the leader, relished the room to click through his gears and won going away. Liked the sustained sprint he showed, clocking superior time to the Magic Night despite going slower in the early stages. Double tick. He disappointed in the Skyline prior to that but found himself cluttered up in the middle stages. 

5. KING’S LEGACY
   Trainer: Peter and Paul Snowden
   Jockey: Damian Lane

Would need to improve sharply on what we’ve seen to date. Was luckless behind Aim and Blondeau before beating Every Rose in the BJ McLachlan. Found the line well enough in the Magic Millions subsequent to that. Will be cuddled up on the fence from the draw. The market has him $34 but thought he was entitled to be longer.

7. MAMARAGAN
   Trainer: John Thompson
   Jockey: Nash Rawiller

Will be John Thompson’s first Golden Slipper runner. Mamaragan became the first horse to win the Skyline Stakes on debut. The shape of that race leant itself to something running home over the top to beat him but to his credit, he kept finding. Osamu and Aim settled out the back in the run and finished in the placings. That’s second tier Slipper form and he lacks race experience but who knows where the ceiling is for this colt given he has just one start to his name.

8. AWAY GAME
   Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
   Jockey: Glen Boss

Iron filly that just keeps on turning up. Won the Magic Million beating Stellar Pauline at a big price on the back of a dominant Doomben win before dictating the Widden Stakes at Randwick. Then it was down to Caulfield for the Blue Diamond where she stuck on great to run fourth, despite travelling in the inferior ground. Can make a case she should have finished closer but suspect that’s about where she sits. Place chance.

9. DAME GISELLE
   Trainer: Peter and Paul Snowden
   Jockey: Tim Clark

The track is key to this filly’s chances. The drier the better. The winkers went on in the Golden Gift back in November and the daughter of I Am Invincible exploded clear beating See You Soon, Blaze A Trail and Cellsabeel. That gave Peter and Paul Snowden the luxury of plotting a path to the Slipper without any pressure to earn prizemoney. Was her scrambling Reisling win good enough to win a Slipper? No, but we saw it with Capitalist and we saw it with Sepoy. There is a sense of timing about her and she maps beautifully.

10. SEE YOU SOON
    Trainer: Jean Dubois
    Jockey: Jean Van Overmeire

Will be sick of the sight of Dame Giselle having raced against her in all three of her career runs. The latest of those was in the Resiling where, despite being first up, thought she was entitled to win given the runs that presented on the fence given Dame Giselle covered ground throughout. It was a funny run race, going hard the first 400m before slamming the breaks on so be a touch forgiving when assessing the overall times against Farnan in the Todman. Should be charging late.

11. MILDRED
    Trainer: Grahame Begg
    Jockey: Jordan Childs

Has won three from six and placed twice in her six runs. The miss was when fifth at Moonee Valley but she was still only 0.6L off the winner. An extremely consistent filly that makes her own luck. Refused to lay down in the Resiling last start when third behind Dame Gisella and See You Soon. Had to absorb plenty of early pressure, before getting a breather. The draw isn’t pretty for her.

12. PERSONAL
    Trainer: David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig
    Jockey: Craig Williams

Reminds me of Tulip, having run a similar race in the 2017 Blue Diamond. Same colours and same stable too. The difference being that Tulip then won the Magic Night in dominant fashion before placing third (after protesting against Menari) in the Slipper behind She Will Reign. This filly instead had a tick over barrier trial at Randwick. There was some style about how she won her heat. Not sure where she lands from the draw.

13. MUNTASEERA
    Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
    Jockey: Michael Dee

It turned out to be an average field she put to the sword at Rosehill back in November but there was plenty of substance about her close that day. Hasn’t gone on with it since then though, albeit she did run fifth in the Blue Diamond. Was expected to win the starts after that down the straight but finished a very distant second to Minhaaj. Doesn’t look to be going well enough.

14. HUNGRY HEART
    Trainer: Chris Waller
    Jockey: James McDonald

Being a daughter of Frankel out of a Pivotal mare (the sire of Avilius), she is defying her breeding by doing what she is over the sprint trips. Love the way she rounded up her rivals at Randwick in the Sweet Embrace, with Punters Intelligence revealing she clocked a final 600m 5.5 lengths quicker than the next best in the race. Tipping her to run a huge race and put her name in lights heading into the Sires and Champagne.

15. CELLSABEEL
    Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
    Jockey: Damien Oliver

It’s easy to get the impression that she has been patched together to get here but that’s probably unfair. Had well documented feet issues heading into the Silver Slipper and ran accordingly before running a luckless third in a messy running of the Black Opal last start. It’s hardly an ideal lead in but we know what she is capable of, having won by the length of the straight at Rosehill back in January. Can’t be a hard no but seems unlikely.

16. THERMOSPHERE
    Trainer: James Cummings
    Jockey: Tommy Berry

Squeezed in through the back door by winning the Magic Night last Saturday. That’s where the parallels with Kiamichi probably end though, other than being Godolphin fillies. If it was another bottomless track on Saturday she’d acquit herself well but the Magic Night time was far inferior to Prague in the Pago Pago and maidener Jemss ran third at triple figure odds. Prior to that she was knocking around at the midweeks. Entitled to be a rank outsider.

17. RATHLIN
    Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
    Jockey: Mark Zahra

Was jagged back in the field in the Blue Diamond having drawn wide and faces the same problem here. Prior to that he stalked the speed in the Prelude and finished on the heels of Hanseatic and Rulership. The barrier again cost him a closer finish in the Magic Millions. He’ll need luck but can get him shorter than $81. Not the worst roughie.

18. MINHAAJ
    Trainer: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace
    Jockey: Daniel Stackhouse

Has burst onto the scene late with two dominant wins. On debut at Bendigo she won as she liked, trotting in by five lengths before backing that up at Flemington beating Munteaseera by a similar margin. To the eye the win was much more flattering than on the clock but have to respect the raps coming out of the Hayes yard about this filly. Still needs another scratching.

19. TIME IS PRECIOUS
    Trainer: Gerald Ryan
    Jockey: TBA

Would inject a lot more speed into the race if she snuck in.

20. PHILIZZY
    Trainer: Anthony Cummings
    Jockey: TBA

Doesn’t have the class to figure.

TIPS

1. TAGALOA
2. FARNAN
3. DAME GISELLE
4. HUNGRY HEART

Check out the form and replays for the Golden Slipper on Saturday.