Mossfun’s Golden Slipper Odds Shorten

The 2014 Golden Slipper odds of Mossfun have shortened in the last 24 hours; with the Team Hawkes-trained filly the clear market mover in betting for the Group 1 event that will be held at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

Mossfun has been well backed to win the 2014 Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens this weekend.

Mossfun has been well backed to win the 2014 Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart

Mossfun was available at Golden Slipper odds of $7 at the conclusion of the barrier draw yesterday and is now into a quote of $6 after Peter Snowden reported to Racing New South Wales stewards that outright favourite Earthquake had suffered from a mild fever last Sunday.

Also in the favor of Mossfun is the wet conditions that are expected in Sydney during the week and co-trainer Wayne Hawkes told RSN this morning that his brother Michael did a dance of delight when he saw a weather forecast last night; with Mossfun proving she can handle slow going with an impressive win in the Group 2 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 1.

“There are forty of fifty mills predicted for Thursday and Michael went nuts; we have three great wet-trackers in on Saturday and Michael just lost it.

“Everybody saw from she did three starts ago, she just gave them a flogging, and we go just as good on the wet as we go on the dry.

“It is certainly going to fall into our favour that is for sure.”

Mossfun has not produced a bad performance since making her racing debut, taking out the Inglis Nursey (1000m), Group 3 Widden Stakes (1100m) and Silver Slipper Stakes, and was far from disgraced when second behind Earthquake in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 22.

Hawkes said that Mossfun had taken improvement from each of her race starts during her career and believes that the Mossman filly is primed for the 2014 Golden Slipper this weekend.

“Every time we have asked her to step-up the bar she just keeps doing it,” Hawkes said.

“I haven’t seen her since she ran against Earthquake and just from my eye she looks much, much better than she did two weeks ago.

“It is grand final day, we are not waiting for Saturday week, Saturday is what it has always been about since her first race start.

“So far we have her going in spot-on.”

Earthquake remains an outright favourite for the Group 1 event, at Golden Slipper odds of $2.30, and Hawkes believes that the daughter of Exceed And Excel is the horse to beat in the $3.5 million race this weekend, but said that he is not worried about taking on the Blue Diamond Stakes winner.

“My father (John Hawkes) always said that to me don’t even be afraid about the 2’s on pop because they are all beatable,” Hawkes said.

All Too Hard was going to win the Australian Guineas a couple of years ago and never made the field and Earthquake has had a temperature and a few things are probably not all right there.

“Going into these big races you need to be spot on and I would rather Earthquake be in the field than not be in the field because you want to see the best horses run.”

The Hawkes Team is chasing their third win in the Golden Slipper after previously winning the race with Guineas in 1997 and Forensics in 2007.

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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.