Light Rain Won’t Affect Golden Slipper Day Track

Light rain has hit the Rosehill Gardens track this morning in the lead-up to 2015 Golden Slipper day, but track manager Chris Toogood is confident that the surface is in very good condition.

Mossfun won the 2014 edition of the Golden Slipper on a heavy track, but thankfully the track is in much better condition for this year's race. Photo by: Steve Hart

Mossfun won the 2014 edition of the Golden Slipper on a heavy track, but thankfully the track is in much better condition for this year’s race. Photo by: Steve Hart

Toogood told RSN this morning that the Rosehill Gardens track is currently in the Good 3 range with a Pentometer reading of 4.55 and he feels that the track is unlikely to be downgraded during today’s racing – despite the Bureau Of Meteorology declaring that there will be light showers in Sydney throughout the early afternoon.

The 2014 Golden Slipper was run on a heavy track and many racing experts believe that the track conditions changed  the result of the world’s richest two-year-old event and cost Earthquake the race, but that is unlikely to be the case this year.

Golden Slipper favourite Vancouver took out the Group 3 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) on a track rated as a Soft 6 at Rosehill Gardens on January 31, but proved equally as impressive on a much firmer track in the Breeders Plate (1000m) at Royal Randwick on October 4 and the Group 2 Todman Stakes (1200m) at the same venue on March 7.

Exosphere is rated the main danger to Vancouver in the Golden Slipper and he also has form on soft tracks after winning the Valentines Day Maiden Plate (1000m) at Kembla Grange on February 14 on a soft seven and the Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m) on a soft five at Warwick Farm on February 28.

While the weather conditions are not expected to impact the Golden Slipper, the way the Rosehill Gardens track plays this afternoon could impact the race and dictate the tactics that Tommy Berry chooses to exhibit when he rides Vancouver in the Group 1 event.

Form expert Daniel O’Sullivan believes that Berry has two options in the Golden Slipper and if the Rosehill Gardens track is favoring horses close to the speed, he may elect to press forward on the favourite in the early stages of the race.

“I’m not too sure which way they will go there and I doubt whether the stable will reveal those tactics as they are most likely to have a plan A and a plan B,” O’Sullivan told RSN.

“I think that initially they will look to press forward and perhaps if Tommy Berry accesses very quickly that looks unlikely they then may go to a plan B.

“It has certainly added an intriguing element to this race.”

Vancouver is currently available at 2015 Golden Slipper odds of $3 and is a clear favourite from Exosphere ($4.20) and Headwater ($12).

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.