Last weekend’s impressive Randwick two year old winner French Fern will take her place in the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday week.
French Fern, pink and black, will take her place in the Golden Slipper at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.
Initially trainer David Payne had shied away from committing to start French Fern in the world’s richest two year old race after she scored a three quarters of a length win over Quick Feet in the Group 2 $300,000 Reisling Stakes (1200m).
But after further consultation with the filly’s owners, French Fern will be set for Rosehill’s glamour juvenile event.
Payne said that he didn’t want to make a hasty decision and wanted to wait to see how she pulled up after her Reisling Stakes win.
French Fern was having her first run from eight weeks and Payne said that she would definitely be improved fitness wise.
“She is going to improve with the run. She has a lot of potential,” Payne said.
Reisling Stakes winning jockey Blake Shinn was also impressed with the filly’s winning effort and expects her to excel when the distances get longer.
“She did a great job, wide the whole way, always travelled well, but kicked strongly,” Shinn said.
Top New Zealand rider Opie Bosson has been booked to ride French Fern in the Golden Slipper with Shinn already committed to one time favourite Capitalist.
The Peter and Paul Snowden trained Capitalist suffered his first defeat from four starts when beaten as an odds favourite by Kiss And Make Up from the Gai Waterhouse stable in last Saturday’s Group 2 $300,000 UNSW Todman Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
French Fern’s win in the Reisling Stakes and Kiss And Make Up’s Todman Stakes win exempted both youngster from the ballot for the Golden Slipper and they joined Astern, Good Standing, and Scarlet Rain who are also guaranteed a start.
Caulfield trainer Mick Price’s Blue Diamond Stakes quinella Extreme Choice and Flying Artie are at the head of the Golden Slipper market order at Ladbrokes.com.au following the defeat of Capitalist in the Todman Stakes.
Extreme Choice is a dominant $2.80 favourite ahead of Flying Artie at $6.50 while Kiss And Make Up has jumped up the market order to be the third pick at $9 while French Fern is still rated a $26 chance.
Golden Slipper market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $2.80 Extreme Choice, $6.50 Flying Artie, $9 Kiss And Make Up, $10 Astern, Capitalist, $17 Defcon, Good Standing, Scarlet Rain, Yankee Rose, $21 Weatherly, $26 Calliope, French Fern, Honesty Prevails, In The Vanguard, Souchez.
