Racing
The Saturday Look Ahead
Hall of Famers Gai Waterhouse and John Hawkes have the opportunity to secure the outright training record in the Group 2 $300,000 Silver Slipper (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
The champion trainers have already prepared seven winners each of the feature juvenile race.
Waterhouse is represented by early favourite Shiki ($3.90) and Eviction Notice ($12), while Hawkes has Dr Hook ($21).
Waterhouse, who trains in partnership with Adrian Bott, first won the Silver Slipper with Excellerator back in 2001.
She's also won the race with Hasna (2003), Amelia's Dream (2008), Pierro (2012), Sweet Idea (2013), Farnan (2020) and Straight Charge (2024), the last two wins with Bott. Pierro and Farnan trained on to win the Golden Slipper.
Amelia's Dream ripped around the Rosehill 1100m course in a brilliant 1m 02.90s to win her Silver Slipper – a race record that still stands to this day.
If Shiki can add to Waterhouse's Silver Slipper record, she will be the first filly to win the race since Sunlight in 2018.
Hawkes won his first Silver Slipper with Strategic in 1994 followed by Clang 12 months later.
Domesday (2005), Plagiarize (2006) and Shaft (2007) gave Hawkes a hat-trick of Silver Slippers then the trainer formed a partnership with sons Michael and Wayne and won the race again with Mossfun (2014) and Headwater (2015). Mossfun completed the Silver Slipper-Golden Slipper double.
Dr Hook, a well-bred colt by Too Darn Hot out of Sylvia's Mother, might also be one of the best-named racehorses in training.
Sylvia's Mother was the first hit single for the American rock band, Dr Hook, reaching number one in Australia in 1972.
Will the Diamond be the right 2yo form?
The race eve scratching of early favourite Big Sky has forced a revamp of betting for the Group 1 $2 million Blue Diamond (1200m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior withdrew unbeaten Big Sky on Friday morning with Price telling Melbourne radio: "I'm not happy with him."
Big Sky's stablemate, Guest House, is the new Blue Diamond favourite at $4.80.
Guest House is set to start out of barrier three – a starting position that has not produced a Blue Diamond winner since the brilliant Bel Esprit romped home in 2002.
Bel Esprit, who passed away on Thursday aged 26, was also an outstanding success at stud, most notably as the sire of the legendary Black Caviar, unbeaten in 25 races including 15 at Group 1 level.
Treasurethe Moment is set to continue the outstanding record of favourites in the Group 1 $750,000 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
Favourites have won 13 of the last 16 Futuritys including successive wins by Mr Brightside at $1.50 (2024) and $1.70 (2025) last two years.
The Matt Laurie-trained Treasurethe Moment dominates Futurity betting at $1.90 with Evaporate next at $6.
A lot to lump in the Oakleigh Plate
Hedged has to set a modern-day weight-carrying record to win the third Group 1 race on the Caulfield program, the $750,000 Oakleigh Plate (1100m),
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior-trained Hedged has 59kg, a handicap no sprinter has carried successfully to win the Oakleigh Plate in more than 30 years.
The biggest weight carried successfully to win the Caulfield sprint this century was the 58kg Flamberge shouldered in 2016.
All in the Hobartville family
Autumn Boy , Attica and Shangri La Boy are out to emulate their sires by winning the Group 2 $400,000 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at the Rosehill meeting.
The Chris Waller-trained Autumn Boy is challenging for favouritism at $4 for the Hobartville, a race his sire, The Autumn Sun, won in 2019.
In fact, The Autumn Sun also won the Caulfield Guineas (2018) that season as Autumn Boy did last spring.
Godolphin's Attica is by Lonhro, a Hobartville Stakes winner in 2002, and Shangri La Boy is a son of Pierro, winner of the 2012 Hobartville.
Chris Waller talks to Ray Thomas about his entries for the Verry Elleegant Stakes at Randwick.
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| Chris Waller talks to Ray Thomas about his entries for the Verry Elleegant Stakes at Randwick. |
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