$100 Million showdown: Golden Slipper day becomes racing’s ultimate stage

There is little doubt Golden Slipper day has become Australia’s best meeting with $100 million in talent on show at Rosehill on Saturday.

Never before have the horses racing on one day topped the $100 million in earnings with more than $90 million of that spread across the five Group 1 races on a unique day of the Australian turf.

The supercharged Sydney spring has delivered the cash in the pockets for our equine stars, but Golden Slipper day and the autumn are where reputations are earned.

It might be Golden Slipper, which crowns the country’s best two-year-old, but there are stars spread across the card, led by the unbeaten Autumn Glow in the George Ryder Stakes, where runners have accumulated more than $37 million in stakes.

Autumn Glow will be out to join the greats like Manikato, Emancipation, Lonhro and the incomparable Winx by winning the Ryder.

History dictates greatness and although she won an Epsom and Golden Eagle in the spring, and her unbeaten streak sits at 10, the Ryder will embellish her resume towards champion status.

Her trainer Chris Waller warned her best is yet to come.

“She is ready to peak, so I think you are going to see something special to start with,” Waller said.

“Have we seen her get to her highest level? I don’t think we have.”

“All horses have a ceiling though, so we are mindful of that.”

“We keep putting challenges in front of her and she keeps taking them with every step.”

While money makes the money go round, in racing tradition counts and that’s what Autumn Glow hunts on Saturday.

Champions that transcended time have won the Rosehill Guineas from Phar Lap to Tulloch and on to Dulcify and Kingston Town in consecutive years as the 1970s became the 80s.

Octagonal, Tie The Knot and It’s A Dundeel are modern time heroes and most recently The Autumn Sun, Anamoe and Broadsiding last year.

Observer could fit into that group if he becomes the first horse to win the Victoria Derby, Australian Guineas and Rosehill Guineas.

“He’s a horse with a lot of talent, he’s improving all the time. I’d say with a break he’s going to come back a lot stronger horse [because] he’s still very much maturing,” trainer Ciaron Maher said.

The past decade has changed Australian racing, it now rewards the quintessential Australian horse in the sprinters.

The Everest drives attention, but the rewards are there to see with the Galaxy runners, already earning more than $32 million.

Mazu, an Everest placegetter and three-time runner, is the leading earner appearing on the afternoon with $10.4 million and he will get his preferred soft conditions.

The Galaxy is often lost in the shadows of the other Group 1s on the day but stands up to be counted on Saturday.

The Ranvet shapes as a duel between a Derby winning filly in Aeliana and Sir Delius, unbeaten at 2000m in Australia, and could be like the Addeybb versus Verry Elleegant that thrilled the crowds in 2020 and 21.

“The filly will be hard to beat, but he is going just as well as he was in the spring in Melbourne and he will win,” Gai Waterhouse said of Sir Delius.

Then, there are 16 two-year-olds in this year’s Golden Slipper who are incredibly evenly matched, looking to land the biggest prize in the world for their age.

“It’s an unusual Slipper where nothing stands out, I can’t remember one like it. A great contest where we could have two or three different favourites on the day, and we think the Victoria form is the best form this year,” Palmerbet and rails bookmaker Grant Palmer said.

In total, there is $9.8 million in prizemoney on offer on Saturday. But it’s more about legacy.

A day where turf stars seal legendary places in history.