Here are comments from various trainers regarding the build up of their horses to Saturday's rescheduled Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens as told to Sky Racing's Lizzie Jelfs (Randwick) and Richard Haynes (Rosehill) on Tuesday morning.
Swift Witness (co-trainer Adrian Bott)
Trainer Adrian Bott (Pic: Bradley Photos)
"I think (the extra week) has probably benefited her, obviously she was first-up there in the Reisling so it was only a relatively quick turnaround there for her. We’ve had that extra week and been able to do a little bit more work with her and she certainly hasn’t taken any harm from it. Her best win to date was on a soft track when she raced at the Gold Coast, prior to that her first start at Wyong was a soft track. They weren’t terribly heavy those conditions but she got through it well so if we see it fall into those ranges we’d be more confident."
John Sargent (trainer Four Moves Ahead)
"I ticked her over at the weekend when I was waiting when the races were and (Tuesday) she had her final gallop. Nash (Rawiller) came in to ride her and she galloped over 800m with a mate on the Polytrack and I’m very happy with her. She’s quite a laid back filly so we put a bit of work into her, I noticed after the gallop she didn’t blow a lot so she is right there now and we just tick her over until Saturday."
Michael Freedman (co-trainer Glistening and Stay Inside)
Glistening: "She wasn’t out to do a great deal (on Tuesday), she’s pretty much there so she did what I would call a bit of maintenance work. She strode out really well, Jean (Van Overmeire) was on board and he was pretty happy with how she felt. She’s quite a lightly framed filly and doesn’t need a lot of work to keep her up to the mark. The extra week meaning three weeks from the Reisling is not going to worry her very much. The query is going onto the likely heavy track. She’s never been on it, but she might love it I don’t know."
Stay Inside: "He certainly hasn’t gone backwards. He came out and did a bit of pacework on the weekend then Tommy (Berry) gave him a gallop (Tuesday) morning on the Polytrack. He seemed really good, I’m very happy with where he is at physically and I think he goes into Saturday in pretty good nick. He has a really good straightforward attitude, he’s got a good versatile racing style depending on how the race is going to pan out, and he has shown he can at least handle a soft 7 but beyond that it is a bit of a mystery."
"I don't think the gap between runs will bother him."
Co-trainer Sam Freedman talks to @LizzieJelfs about @FreedmanRacing's Longines Golden Slipper runner Artorius & Realm Of Flowers ahead of @rosehillgardens on Saturday. @tabcomau @7horseracing pic.twitter.com/aZgm0bQhJq
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) March 23, 2021
Sam Freedman (co-trainer Artorius)
"He’s really well, obviously we’ve had an extra week to get a bit more work into him. He had a nice gallop (Tuesday) morning in company with one of Michael’s horses and worked strongly. He’s never been a really flashy trackworker, he’s very workmanlike, so I’m very happy with him. He’s fit and well and even though it is a long gap between runs the freshness in him keeps the sprint in him which I think is a real positive for him."
Chris Waller (trainer Shaquero, O'President, Home Affairs)
Trainer Chris Waller (Pic: Bradley Photos)
"They are all well, we just keep them ticking over. We haven’t panicked about the extra week and have basically done maintenance work. They had a gallop on Monday and we will probably do a little bit on Thursday morning but it will be barely getting out of half pace, just breezing them up and keeping them happy.
Shaquero: "It gives him an extra week between runs after his win in the Skyline, he’s not as effective on wet ground and his barrier draw is probably not as important any more."
O’President: "(Updated) Unfortunately this morning (Wednesday) when doing our routine temperature checks, O’President had an elevated temperature. We monitored him for two hours and there were no changes so have therefore treated him with anti-inflammatories and unfortunately he will be withdrawn from the Golden Slipper."
Home Affairs: "He now goes three weeks between runs, he’s probably a slightly stronger horse than O’President but still very clean winded. He handles soft tracks without any problems, he hasn’t raced on heavy so we will find out on Saturday."
Gerald Ryan (co-trainer Mallory)
"She had a really nice week last week and she did all her work heading into (last Saturday). She was able to do a little bit of work on Sunday morning on the polytrack and she’ll gallop again (Wednesday) for her final hitout. The main thing I say is don’t panic, don’t try and play catch up. You’ve just got to be careful you don’t overcook them, we’ve been fortunate we have the Polytrack here and we haven’t missed any work with her."
Mick Price (co-trainer Profiteer)
"I’ve got no excuses, put it that way. You can only have your horse physically well and he’s very physically well and thriving. Had a blood picture done on him (Monday) and it was pretty spot on. He galloped Sunday morning because he was jumping out of his skin ready to go to for the Slipper, he’ll gallop Wednesday morning and they are his two gallops for the week and we cruise into the Slipper."
The field, form and replays for the Golden Slipper at Rosehill on Saturday