Last year’s winning trainer Gary Portelli will saddle up a number of his potential 2018 Golden Slipper horses in the traditional lead-up races held at Rosehill Gardens this Saturday.
Secret Lady lines-up in the 2018 Widden Stakes on Saturday ahead of the Golden Slipper in March. Photo: Steve Hart.
Both the Group 3 $150,000 Widden Stakes (1100m) for fillies and the Group 3 $150,000 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) for colts and geldings take place on the weekend leading-up to the iconic Group 1 $3.5 million Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) back at the track on March 24.
Last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival Portelli won the world’s richest race for two-year-olds with his gun filly She Will Reign (2017) dominating the Golden Slipper Stakes results.
The Warwick Farm-based horseman is back this season chasing the lucrative prize once more and on Saturday will launch the Golden Slipper campaigns of at least three of his untapped juveniles.
In the Widden Stakes Portelli has Choisir filly Secret Lady in the mix after she was scratched from last weekend’s Blue Diamond Preview in Melbourne due to a wide barrier.
Last seen finishing fifth to Sunlight in the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 13 in her fourth career start, Secret Lady is currently a $67 outsider in pre-field Golden Slipper odds at Ladbrokes.com.au.
“She is as fresh as a daisy and is a happy horse and I think she is ready to run a big race,” Portelli told AAP.
In the Canonbury Stakes for the two-year-old boys, Portelli has three of the seven nominees but will likely only accept for his promising Medaglia D’Oro colt Dio D’Oro and the unraced Exceltic.
The stable’s third entry Patron Black, last seen running a sixth on debut at Randwick to Estijaab in a 1000m sprint from January 20, is more likely to run at Canberra on Friday.
“I will start two, Exceltic and Dio D’Oro and we’ll do our best to beat Performer but it will be hard,” Portelli said.
“Corey Brown will ride Exceltic and Winona Costin is booked for Dio D’Oro.
“I’ve entered Patron Black for Canberra but there are a couple of smart ones nominated there so we’ll have a think about it.”
The danger mentioned by Portelli is the Chris Waller-trained Performer, the Exceed And Excel colt second favourite at $8 to in the Golden Slipper behind the Magic Millions Classic winner Sunlight ($6.50).
Performer is engaged for a first-up Canonbury Stakes run after saluting on debut at Randwick back in late September’s Listed Breeders Plate (1000m).
The highly-spruiked chestnut is also a dual trial winner this January at Rosehill over 900m.
The Portelli-trained Dio D’Oro is a $101 outsider in Golden Slipper futures after a second to four-length winner Estijaab on debut earlier in the month, while stablemate Exceltic is far better fancied for the Group 1 sitting at $26 despite not having lined-up under race conditions ahead of Saturday.
Excelebration colt Exceltic has had three official trials going back to September for three winning hit-outs, the latest on January 15 at Warwick Farm over 797m.
For all the best weekend racing odds and early Golden Slipper Stakes 2018 betting markets head to Ladbrokes.com.au today.
