One last throw of the dice to Slipper

SYDNEY – The Magic Night and Pago Pago Stakes will be the last chance saloon for a host of two-year-olds clamouring for the final spots in the Golden Slipper, including top fancy Warwoven.

The colt is 18th in the order of qualification, but with two horses expected to be paid up as late entries and the winners of the brace of lead-ups on March 14 earning automatic berths, Warwoven’s trainer Bjorn Baker does not want to risk missing a start.

The Sword Of State two-year-old finished a close fourth in the Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1,200m) on Feb 28 after being controversially scratched from the Magic Millions Classic (1,200m) at the Gold Coast on Jan 17 when Racing Queensland veterinarians deemed he was lame.

Baker, who also has second Slipper favourite and last weekend’s Group 2 Todman Stakes (1,200m) victor Paradoxium, says Warwoven will strip much fitter in the Pago Pago. Rachel King will ride.

“He is going to come on, no doubt about it,” said Baker.

“He’s probably even got a touch more improvement from where Paradoxium is at the moment.”

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott will have a quartet of juveniles across both Group 3 A$250,000 (S$227,000) races, By Choice and Lumbini representing Tulloch Lodge in the Magic Night Stakes (1,200m) for the fillies (at 10.40am Singapore time), while Plagiarism lines up in the Pago Pago Stakes (1,200m) for the males (at 11.15am Singapore time).

By Choice has been around the mark in all four starts, including a third in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1,200m) on Feb 28, and Bott says the Written By filly just needs the right race shape to get another win on the board.

“She is going to appreciate high-pressure races, and appreciate a bit further in time,” said Bott.

“But she has been so honest throughout her career. She’s tough, she puts herself up on pace and she has drawn to do so again.”

He expected Lumbini to be an improver after getting cluttered up when the Russian Revolution filly was unplaced in the same race last start, but admitted he would want to see one of them win impressively to consider backing up in the Golden Slipper.

It is a similar scenario for Plagiarism, another Written By progeny who has been in the mix in all three appearances, including a fifth when finishing less than a length from winner Campione D’Italia in the Skyline Stakes.

“I’d like to think we’re seeing nice, gradual improvement from him at each stage of the prep,” said Bott. “He’s on a path to give himself a potential opportunity to have a look at a Slipper.

“All those three would be outside the field at present and would need to be winning their way in, and we’d be wanting to see the right performance from them as well to be starting.”

The stable’s Drumfire, a late arrival on the two-year-old scene after making a winning debut at Muswellbrook on March 8, was entered in the Pago Pago, but was eventually scratched.

The Pago Pago and Magic Night are races that Shinzo in 2023 and Kiamichi in 2019 respectively both won before taking out the Golden Slipper on the quick back-up.

The world’s richest two-year-old race at A$5 million (S$4.5 million) will be held at Rosehill Gardens on March 21 with the market currently headed by the Singapore-owned Chayan.

Raced by businessman Eric Koh of Team Cheval, the Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained filly by I Am Invincible sprang into favouritism following her slashing win with top gun James McDonald up in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes (1,200m) at Randwick on March 7.

McDonald stays aboard in the Slipper, surely another factor for the 18-5 quote on the Australian ante-post market while Paradoxium is at 4-1. SKY RACING WORLD