Zelady’s Night Out primed for Slipper test
IT will be a make-or-break Golden Slipper mission for Zelady’s Night Out when one of Queensland’s best two-year-olds makes her Sydney debut at Randwick.
A winner of her first three starts before being beaten from a wide draw in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Zelady’s Night Out is a confirmed starter in the Reisling Stakes on Saturday.
Yet, whether she presses on from the ballot-exempt lead-up race to the $3.5 million Golden Slipper on March 19 will be up to her.
Zelady’s Night Out has banked more than $200,000 in stakes and is assured of a Golden Slipper start.
But trainer Tony Gollan insists the filly needs a prominent Reisling finish to justify her place in the field.
“She’s got to take things to a new level, but she’s done well with the break,” Gollan said.
“She’s paid up for Slipper and if she runs top three we’ll head that way.”
Zelady’s Night Out will be sent to Sydney on Wednesday night after doing everything right in an unofficial jump-out last week.
“She exploded out of the gates … and then we just let the older horses go around her and she just sat third on the fence and that’s where she finished on their heels,” Gollan said.
Tim Clark has been booked to ride Zelady’s Night Out in a race where the Widden Stakes winner Honesty Prevails will be a benchmark filly.
Honesty Prevails raced into Slipper calculations with her Widden victory and trainer Rick Worthington expects the filly to be even better suited at 1200m.
Zelady’s Night Out was well beaten into ninth in the Magic Millions, with the winner of that race, Capitalist, also returning to racing on Saturday in the Todman Stakes for colts and geldings.
“The colts look to have a clear advantage everywhere,” Gollan said.
“Capitalist was dominant in the Magic Millions and Extreme Choice was dominant in the Blue Diamond.”