The 2014 Golden Slipper winner will have to handle a wet Rosehill track after officials rated it a heavy 8 this morning.
Mossfun showed her liking for a wet track in winning the Silver Slipper Stakes. Photo by Steve Hart.
A penetrometer reading of 5.74 put the track into the low heavy range and with the sun shining in Sydney this morning the Australian Turf Club is hopeful that an upgrade will come sometime during the day.
Rosehill has received 29.5mm of rain for the week, 8mm in the last twenty-four hours and today will be the second week in a row that surface has been rain affected with last week’s Rosehill Guineas meeting starting with a heavy 9 before being upgraded to a slow 7 during the day.
The rail for today has been pushed out to the four metre mark for the entire course from the true position of last week with the chance showers forecast for the rest of the day.
Jockey Brenton Avdulla, who rides Believe Yourself for Gerald Ryan in the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) today, was one of two jockeys who galloped a horse on the Rosehill course proper this morning.
Avdulla tweeted that the track was only heavy in certain sections and slow for the remainder.
“Galloped on Rosehill CP… Heavy in patches with the 700m mark being worse part as usual. 500-WP best part of track only slow,” Avdulla tweeted.
The Golden Slipper starts up the 1200m chute at Rosehill and deputy chief steward Greg Rudolph reported that two thirds of the chute is slow.
“The first part of the chute is slow but then as they come onto the course proper for three to 400 metres is heavy,” deputy chief steward Greg Rudolph said.
Golden Slipper favourite Earthquake ($2.80) will be having her first start on a rain affected track with all her four wins being on a good surface, including her victory in the Group 1 $1m Sportingbet Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on February 22.
Whereas second favourite Mossfun ($4.20) has the advantage of a win on a slow 7 with a runaway four lens trouncing of Press Report and Risen From Doubt in the Group 2 $250,000 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on March 1.
Then back on a good track, Mossfun was beaten by a length and a quarter by Earthquake in the Group 2 $300,000 Parramatta Leagues Club Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill two weeks ago.
Alpha Miss ($21) also has the benefit of winning on a slow 7 when she took out the Listed $125,000 Pro-Ride Lonhro Plate (1100m) at Warwick Farm on March 8.
And the Peter Moody trained Bring Me The Maid ($9) had no trouble handling a heavy 8 when she came from near last on the home turn to win the Group 2 $175,000 IRT Magic Night Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill last week.
