Hall ready for Golden Slipper victory at first attempt

Jockey Nick Hall is hoping for ‘first time lucky’ when he rides Melbourne colt Ready For Victory in the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

Ready For Victory and NIck Hall, above, will team up again in the Golden Slipper at Rosehill. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.

Ready For Victory and NIck Hall, above, will team up again in the Golden Slipper at Rosehill. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.

Hall has ridden numerous Group 1 winners including Fawkner in the 2013 Caulfield Cup and Linton in the 2013 Stradbroke Handicap but will be having is first ride in the Golden Slipper.

“I just want to go up there and get the job done,” Hall told the Herald Sun.

The Mick Price trained Ready For Victory has only been to the races once for an impressive come from behind win in the Listed $120,000 Festival Of Racing 1000 (1000m) at Flemington on March 7 and Hall is expecting more improvement from that experience.

“I still thought he was pretty raw so if … he’s come on from that, he’s got to be a chance,” said Hall.

“He has had two gallops going the Sydney way and Mick tells me it hasn’t been a problem.”

“The horse is well but I haven’t had much of a chance to sit on him because I have been in Sydney doing a lot of work on those Japanese horses. But Mick has told me it’s all good.”

Ready For Victory is likely to jump from barrier seven if the three emergencies don’t gain a start and Hall should be able to settle the More Than Ready colt midfield and get a nice run into the race.

Ready For Victory remains a $13 chance for the Golden Slipper at Ladbrokes.com.au.

The Gai Waterhouse trained Vancouver still commands the betting at $3 just ahead of Godolphin’s Exosphere at $4 with those two colts the only runners under double figures.

Tommy Berry has the job ahead of him with Vancouver to jump from one from the outside of the sixteen horse field while Exosphere, with last year’s Golden Slipper winning jockey James McDonald on board, will settle just off the pace from barrier eight.

Latest Golden Slipper market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3 Vancouver, $4 Exosphere, $13 Headwater, Ready For Victory, $14 Furnaces $15 Haptic, $17 English, $18 Lake Geneva, $34 Speak Fondly, Fireworks, Ottoman, Reemah, $51 Single Gaze, $61 Haybah, $71 Odyssey Moon $101 Serenade, Look To The Stars, $151 Racy, $301 Heavenly Hand.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.