3 minute read

The connections of Sunlight and Written By would have lost no sleep over the results of the key Golden Slipper trials at Randwick on Saturday.

Estijaab may have run race record time but nobody was carried away by her fighting win in the Reisling Stakes, least of all the market framers who couldn’t turn her price out quick enough in Slipper betting while making Sunlight a firmer favourite without racing.

The colts form in the Todman Stakes looks inconclusive given the Performer incident when he dumped his rider Hugh Bowman 200m from the finish just as he was warming to put in a significant finishing surge.

Chris Waller is now under pressure with the previously unbeaten Performer. He faces having to give the colt a trial four or five days out from the Slipper to satisfy the stewards after Saturday’s episode and that is not the ideal program for any 2YO.

Again the Slipper market paid little heed to the Todman Stakes result, even though the colts ran quicker than Estijaab’s record. The winner Aylmerton enjoyed all the favours and did not have to go around a horse to run down the game Queenslander Ef Troop.

She is quick out of the gates!

Estijaab wins the G2 Reisling Stakes with a blistering record 1:09:17 despite wavering slightly down the straight. GoldenSlipper market updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/UWxWICQcuW

— March 10, 2018

If anything the Todman result only adds more merit to the Magic Millions form of Sunlight, given the way the filly left Ef Troop in her wake at the Gold Coast in January.

She now holds the benchmark form as she had also beaten Estijaab in her Sydney debut in the Silver Slipper Stakes at Rosehill on February 24.

For the record Estijaab recorded 1:09.10 for the 1200m on Saturday, running from the front with even sectionals that saw her complete the last 600m in 34.24 seconds.

The colts were flying early, setting up a very quick final time of 1:08.84 - a tick outside Vancouver's race record - on a day where fast time were commonplace. However they did slow in the run to the line with the last 600m taking 34.78 seconds.

We get another look at Sunlight next Saturday in the Magic Night Stakes a week out from the Slipper as Tony McEvoy attempts to replicate the seven day back-up program that proved so successful for the filly in the Magic Millions.

McEvoy has the filly stabled at Warwick Farm and brought Luke Currie from Melbourne to ride her in a track gallop on Saturday morning.

"Everything's gone smoothly and well with her. She had a nice little gallop for me at Warwick Farm and I was really happy with that,” McEvoy reported.

“She seems to be on target."

Meanwhile the Blue Diamond winner Written By is settling into Sydney and is down to contest a hot open age barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday that includes other Slipper hopefuls Prairie Fire, Santos and Setsuna along with noted Group horses In Her Time, Kaepernick and Sanctioned.

It’s a trial that promises to be a vital Slipper guide.

• Zac Purton will fly in from Hong Kong to ride Sunlight’s stablemate Oohood in the Golden Slipper.

Oohood is still a maiden but is well placed in the top 10 on the order of entry with more than $206,000 prizemoney from her four starts.

She will be another Slipper entry to barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday.