Capitalist loss: Golden Slipper picture not as clear as yesterday
The two races that should have made the Golden Slipper picture clearer have thrown up more questions than answers.
The one certainty is that the once-fractured relationship between Gai Waterhouse and John Singleton is now mended with the aptly named Kiss And Make Up the upset winner of the Todman Stakes over odds-on favourite Capitalist.
Kerrin McEvoy took the initiative and steered Kiss And Make Up ($18) to the lead in Saturday’s Group Two race and at the end of the 1200m, Capitalist ($1.22) was still 2-1/4 lengths away.
“I love throwing the cat among the pigeons and what a cat!,” Waterhouse said.
“He’s a beautiful colt. He did it so easily.
“The other horse, Capitalist, was at his side niggling at him early and he was just a man with a mission, and he just went on his course the whole way. That’s what you need for the Slipper.”
Capitalist’s jockey Blake Shinn said he believed the previously unbeaten colt would improve off his first run since the Magic Millions in January.
“The 1200 metres just found him out but he’s going to take a lot of benefit,” he said.
“His grand final is in two weeks and hopefully he’ll be spot-on for then.
The Reisling Stakes for the fillies was just as inconclusive with $2.40 equal favourite Calliope scratched after she put her foot over the side of the stall.
The other equal favourite, Honesty Prevails, found herself trapped on the fence with nowhere to go and once she did get clear, she only managed to run fourth.
The race was won by French Fern, the $31 outsider in the field, but her trainer David Payne said she was no certainty to head to the Slipper.
“We might not go there,” he said.
“You don’t want to ruin them early. She’s a valuable filly and we’ll just let the dust settle and then we’ll decide.”
Godolphin trainer John O’Shea, who was forced to scratch Astern from the Todman because the colt had a temperature, said he would consider whether to run Calliope in next week’s Magic Night Stakes.
The TAB reacted with Kiss And Make Up into $8 from $51 for the $3.5 million Slipper in two weeks.
Long-time favourite Capitalist eased to $11 from $3.50 with Blue Diamond Stakes winner Extreme Choice steady at that quote.