Your Betsy man for the Slipper is Mr Watling. They don’t come any better than him. If you’re looking for a second or third opinion for your exotics, there may be something here for you.
Here is a quick preview with some thoughts on what looks a very open edition of the Golden Slipper.
After the barrier draw, it looks like we are guaranteed a fast-run Slipper. There is plenty of speed drawn wide and nobody will want to be caught in no man’s land, risking a four-wide run facing the breeze.
You could easily make a case for a dozen runners here and still miss. There is no dominant two-year-old like we’ve seen in previous years and, for the first time in a long while, the Victorian juveniles appear to have the edge on the Sydney youngsters.
READ: Get the lowdown on the Slipper barrier draw and latest market
This race is all about timing and it looks as though (14) Chayan is peaking at the right time. She was very good on debut in the Blue Diamond Prelude, then more than passed the test after racing wide in the Blue Diamond itself. She made the trip to Sydney for the Group 2 Reisling last start and was dominant there. She should find cover and, with genuine speed on, can be the strongest late.
If you like her, you have to like (12) Streisand, who beat Chayan twice, including when winning the Blue Diamond. The gate is fine, Jamie Melham stays on and the stable seems supremely confident. She may even get out to double figures in betting, which seems crazy.
I would have loved a better draw for (6) Stretan Ruler. The tempo didn’t really suit him last start, but the effort was still good. The run before that set up much better and he let down like a quality colt. A genuinely run race should suit him, he just needs a touch of luck early and in the run.
I have loved what (2) Closer To Free and (3) Guest House have done in Melbourne. Neither has run poorly yet and there is very little between them. The gate is a concern for Closer To Free, but Guest House should get the right run and gets the crossover noseband on for the first time.
(7) Zambales has drawn well for Nash Rawiller and is the rock-hard fit horse coming through the 1400m run last start.
No knock on (5) Paradoxium, I just thought the race panned out perfectly for him last start and he may have to burn a lot more fuel early here.
Gibbo’s Golden Slipper selections:
(14) Chayan
(12) Streisand
(6) Stretan Ruler
(3) Guest House
(7) Zambales
Suggested trifecta:
6,12,14 // 3,6,7,12,14 // 2,3,5,6,7,12,14 ($60 = 100%)
