The leading Golden Slipper Stakes winning trainer Gai Waterhouse has done it again and uncovered a livewire hope for the world’s richest race for two-year-olds out of nowhere with Kiss And Make Up scoring the Todman Stakes 2016 boilover defeating Capitalist.
Gai Waterhouse will shoot for a seventh Golden Slipper Stakes win with her upset 2016 Todman Stakes winner Kiss And Make Up. Photo: Steve Hart.
The previously undefeated Team Snowden-trained Magic Millions Classic winner Capitalist was $1.24 in betting leading into the $300,000 Group 2 UNSW Todman Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Randwick Guineas Day to continue his gun run into the $3.5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 19.
He was first out of the barriers heading into stride but Waterhouse’s progressive More Than Ready colt quickly moved up to challenge, zipping through with Kerrin McEvoy aboard to take the lead.
It was a genuine pace set in the Todman Stakes, which featured just four runners after the John O’Shea-trained Astern scratched out due to irregular bloodwork and Capitalist’s stablemate Defcon was saved for Sunday’s Black Opal Stakes in Canberra.
Kiss And Make Up flew up front with Capitalist second on his heels while O’Shea’s remaining hope Tessera and his hoop Hugh Bowman took the sit back in third ahead of Weatherly at the tail end.
When the pace eased up the field bunched together approaching the home turn, Kiss And Make Up still in front leading the equal Golden Slipper favourite Capitalist who was battling Mick Price’s Blue Diamond Stakes winner Extreme Choice in early markets for the Group 1.
Bowman got off the fence with Tessera and got onto the back of Capitalist who was being cuddled by jockey Blake Shinn, who came off a win in the first aboard roughie hope French Fern in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1200m).
Tessera couldn’t sprint with the others however, while Weatherly looked a threat making hard work of it down the outside.
Kiss And Make Up ($21) showed he had trained on beautifully from his win on debut over 1200m at Canterbury on February 17 and was a serious colt, leading all-the-way in a very strong run.
He was too tough for his three rivals, holding them all at bay over the final 50m in a magnificent performance defeating Capitalist ($1.26) with Weatherly ($6) in third.
The lightly-raced Todman Stakes winner, who was 50/1 in Golden Slipper Stakes odds before the win, just did not stop and really laid his cards on the table as Waterhouse eyes her incredible seventh win in the Rosehill Gardens classic.
The winning time was 1:09.57, which was outside the race record of 1.08.83 set by the Waterhouse-trained Vancouver, who backed up to win the Golden Slipper Stakes next start, last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.
The Todman Stakes results proved to punters they should never underestimate Waterhouse heading into the Golden Slipper, and she was “absolutely thrilled” with the horse named after her reunion with owner John Singelton.
“Isn’t he a cool dude?!” Waterhouse said of Kiss And Make Up.
“Very exciting, I’m absolutely thrilled.
“He’s a beautiful colt and he did it so easy – on with the Slipper!”
Waterhouse said that having knocked off Capitalist, their main danger next start was the Blue Diamond winner from Melbourne.
McEvoy won the 2011 Golden Slipper Stakes on Peter Snowden’s former star colt Sepoy and is looking forward to hopefully securing another win with Kiss And Make Up on the back of the Todman success.
“He’s come along in leaps and bounds,” McEvoy said.
“He’s very tradesman like, he knows what he’s doing.
“He gave me a nice ride throughout…good effort.
“It opens it (the Golden Slipper) up a little bit now…Capitalist is a hard nut to crack but a week is a long time in a two-year-old’s season.
“This horse is a genuine little trier and he might improve that little bit more into the Slipper so he’s going to be exciting to be on.”
To get behind this season’s Todman Stakes winner Kiss And Make Up in the futures Golden Slipper Stakes odds, visit Ladbrokes.com.au today!
2016 Todman Stakes Results & Finishing Order
Randwick Race 2 – 05/03/2016
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | KISS AND MAKE UP | Gai Waterhouse | Kerrin McEvoy | – | 3 | 55.5kg | $18 |
| 2 | 1 | CAPITALIST | Peter & Paul Snowden | Blake Shinn | 2.3L | 4 | 55.5kg | $1.22F |
| 3 | 5 | WEATHERLY | Paul Messara | Craig Williams | 2.8L | 2 | 55.5kg | $6.50 |
| 4 | 3 | TESSERA | John O’Shea | Hugh Bowman | 5.9L | 1 | 55.5kg | $17 |
| – | 2 | ASTERN | John O’Shea | James McDonald | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 4 | DEFCON | Peter & Paul Snowden | Brenton Avdulla | – | 0 | – | – |
