Real Saga favoured in rain-hit Golden Slipper
Preview: Australia, Saturday 6.50am GMT (live on ATR)
Rosehill: AAMI Golden Slipper (Group 1) 6f, 2yo
HEAVY rain in Sydney means heavy ground for Saturday's Golden Slipper, the world's richest two-year-old race with a prize fund of A$3.5 million (£3.7m) and nearly £1m to the winner's connections.
The 6f event, one of five Group 1s on a fantastic card at Rosehill televised live in Britain on At The Races, features a big field chock-full of class juveniles.
However, it is nevertheless being billed as almost a match between Real Saga, beaten only once in five starts, and the star filly More Joyous.
Real Saga, a son of Tale Of The Cat, suffered his only defeat with a luckless second two runs ago in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes in Melbourne when Saturday's rival Reward For Effort got the better of him by just over a length.
His trainer John Hawkes and jockey Damien Oliver won this race with Forensics two years ago - and Hawkes, who is sharing the billing as trainer with his sons Wayne and Michael, reckons the testing conditions won't unseat him.
"He's excellent and he's never been better," the trainer told The Australian.
"He's spot-on for what he is. I suppose you could say the rain has thrown the cat among the pigeons, but we can't control the weather.
"I think he will get through it. That's my gut feeling but you never really know until they're put under race pressure."
Sydney legend Gai Waterhouse saddles three as she bids for her fourth Golden Slipper victory, headed by the Darren Beadman-partnered More Joyous, who slammed Saturday's rivals Melito and So Anyway over course and distance in a Group 2 two weeks ago.
She has been towards the top end of Slipper betting ever since an eyecatching debut victory here in January and recorded a faster time than Real Saga when winning last time
out.
Rostova (Steve Richards/Steven King) is a proven commodity one starts on rain-affected tracks but let the side down as favourite in the Blue Diamond, where Reward For Effort (Peter Moody/Luke Nolen) became the only horse to beat Real Saga, having shown fine early speed and then holding on.
Also on Saturday
Rosehill: BMW Stakes (Group 1) 1m4f, 3yo+ (4,25am GMT, live on ATR)
Melbourne Cup winner Viewed (Bart Cummings/Blake Shinn) is likely to start favourite against top weight-for-age performer Theseo (Gai Waterhouse/Nash Rawiller) in the race formerly known as the Tancred Stakes.
Although Theseo came off best between the pair last time in the Ranvet Stakes to record his third Group 1 win, the extra two furlongs here should play to Viewed's strengths.
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