Childs chases Gold on unbeaten colt
Jockey Jordan Childs and trainer Grahame Begg return to Rosehill with Written by in the Slipper.
Jordan Childs has taken his opportunity on Written By with both hands and the young jockey and horse will be out to continue their unbeaten partnership in $3.5 million Golden Slipper.
Childs, 22, and Written By have combined for four-straight victories including the jockey’s first Group One win in last month’s Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield.
They head to Rosehill on Saturday with Written By challenging Sunlight for favouritism.
Childs, the son of retired champion jockey Greg Childs, needed a stroke of good fortune to initially pick up the ride on Written By on the morning the Grahame Begg-trained two-year-old made his debut at Sandown on December 2.
He rode a city treble at Moonee Valley the night before and Brad Rawiller, who had been booked to ride Written By, copped a week suspension at the same meeting.
“Brad wanted to ride Black Heart Bart the week after so he had to get off his rides on the Saturday,” Childs said.
“I obviously had a good night so I was fresh in Grahame’s mind.
“And who would have thought that after that day we’d end up winning the Blue Diamond and now be going on to a Slipper.”
That Sandown race was on a heavy track so knowing the colt was able to cope with that has Childs unconcerned about the rain-affected conditions for Saturday.
“I don’t think it’s really going to matter what happens with the weather,” he said.
He also believes Written By will have taken benefit out of his first Sydney race last Saturday when he won the Pago Pago Stakes.
“He got around it OK but I think he’ll definitely be better for the experience because he wasn’t quite fluent so that should help,” he said.
Childs says Written By has what you want in a racehorse.
“He jumps out of the barriers well, he puts himself right there and he’s probably the most push-button horse I’ve ridden,” he said.
“He travels nicely underneath you and he’s just waiting for you to tell him what to do. Then when you give him a squeeze he quickens up.
“And he’s got that will to win.”
Victorian-based Childs arrived back in Sydney on Friday and on race eve Written By was at $5 for the Golden Slipper with Sunlight at $4.60.
“I’ll probably get a little bit nervous tomorrow before I go out for the race but I’m pretty good at handling my nerves,” Childs said.
“I know that I’ve got to go out there and I’ve got a job to do, so I’ll just keep things pretty normal.”