Overreach made Moet & Chandon one act affair

Gai Waterhouse is on the verge of securing her fifth Golden Slipper trophy after her speedy filly Overreach made an one act affair of the Group 2 $300,000 Moet & Chandon Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill today.

overreach

Overreach cements Golden Slipper favouritism with Moet & Chandon win at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.

Winning jockey Tommy Berry had Overreach ($1.40 favourite) first out of the barriers and was never headed to score a four and a quarter lengths win over the tiring Villa Verde ($3.20) with Spurrenddous running on for third.

Overreach has cemented her position at the head of the market for the Group 1 $3.5m Tooheys New Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill in two weeks and win in the world’s richest two year race would be great triumph for Waterhouse after taking out last year’s with Pierro following the success of Sebring (2008), Dance Hero (2004) and Ha Ha (2001).

Overreach was having her first run for five weeks with Berry saying that the Exceed And Excel filly still has some improvement left in her.

“She had quite a good blow. It surprised me how much of a blow she had when she pulled up,” Berry said.

“I think she’s still a little bit new, but no matter what I was going to make her find the line no matter what.”

“There will be a lot more pressure in the Slipper and she’s going to have to tough it out.”

The Golden Slipper ride on Overreach hasn’t been confirmed but Berry is confident connections will stick with him after making it two wins from two rides on the filly.

“I gotta wait to see if I’m on her, but I’m pretty sure that I am,” Berry said.

Waterhouse is leaning towards Overreach as her top pick of her three Golden Slipper fancies and rates her just above her other two year old winners Sweet Idea and Whittington.

“I’m very lucky to have three chances in the Slipper, and I don’t think there is much between the three of them but at present she’ll be the short priced favourite,” Waterhouse said.

Runner-up Villa Verde knocked up noticeably over the final 100m and trainer Shaun Dwyer has a fair bit of work to do to catch up to Overreach on Golden Slipper day.

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.