Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Three million dollar colts, 10 stakes winners, 11 trainers, and five first season sires. The final field has been assembled, the barriers drawn, the jockeys booked - all that remains is for the gates to fly open for the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes on Saturday. Based on their performances to date, who is most likely to emerge victorious? The Thoroughbred Report examined the last 35 editions of the race and drew comparisons to the 2025 runners.
Since 1990, 17 fillies and 18 colts and geldings have been victorious in the world’s richest juvenile race on turf. A number of the lead-up races are split by sex, but some interesting trends do start to emerge when taking a closer look at how Slipper winners have performed in the lead-up.
What is immediately apparent is that the 2-year-olds that hit the track earlier do seem to have the advantage; 77.14 per cent of the Slipper winners have their first race start as pre-Christmas juveniles, and 70.37 per cent of those starters scored a spring win as well, equating to 54.29 per cent of Slipper winners since 1990.
Rivellino
Unbeaten colt Rivellino (Too Darn Hot {GB}) can follow a reasonable precedent from his last start; five Slipper winners have run in the G2 Skyline Stakes, for two winners, two seconds, and a fourth. The most common Slipper finish for a Skyline winner is third, but perhaps even more promising is that 10 of the 31 Skyline victors to run in the Slipper have finished in the first three. Rivellino enters the race as one of only two unbeaten competitors, although he had to win his way in the Skyline; his other wins have come in races restricted to Inglis graduates, where the prizemoney is ineligible for Slipper entry.
Rivellino | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Purchase: Inglis Classic Yearling Sale (Lime Country Thoroughbreds) - $180,000 - Kris Lees (trainer) and Bahen Bloodstock
Trainer: Kris Lees
Pedigree: The second foal from So You Think (NZ) mare Intrinsic, who just missed out on the placings in two Listed races. Her dam Vecchia Roma (Testa Rossa) was a precocious filly, winning twice as a juvenile and running second in the Sweet Embrace when it was a Group 3 contest.
Devil Night
Devil Night (Extreme Choice) must contend with the fact that the only other G1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner to capture the Slipper - from 26 to try since 1990 - was Sepoy in 2011, and while five Blue Diamond winners have run second or third in the Slipper, all but one of this number have been fillies. Of the other six Slipper winners to run in the Diamond, four have run second. The most common Slipper finishing position for a Diamond winner is eighth.
Devil Night | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Perhaps it is better looking at the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (colts and geldings), where he ran second; winner Field Of Play (Deep Field) has gone to Hong Kong, leaving Devil Night the first horse home in a race where, of the five Slipper-winning colts and geldings to contest it since 1990, all five won the event.
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Kingstar Farm) - $1.4 million - Yulong
Trainer: Michael, John, and Wayne Hawkes
Pedigree: Half-brother Our Playboy (Sebring) is a dual Group 3 winner as a 3-year-old, and dam Mischief Night (Shamardal {USA}) is a half-sister to Yulong's exciting stallion Pierata.
North England
One of three runners for Kia Ora Stud’s first season sire Farnan, North England’s status as a pre-Christmas winner (of the $1 million Golden Gift) boosts his chances, but there is no precedent set by his victory; since the race’s establishment in 2019, four of the five winners have run in the Slipper, but no one has finished further forward than Dame Giselle’s (I Am Invincible) seventh in 2020. He also enters the Slipper as one of six horses to not win a stakes race prior to running - a tough act to turn into a Slipper win, only achieved by two horses in the last 35 years in Calaway Gal (Clang) in 2002 and Stay Inside in 2021.
North England | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Purchase: Inglis Classic Yearling Sale (Valiant Stud) - $280,000 - China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy
Trainer: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott
Pedigree: The son of metropolitan winner Our Belisa (Lope De Vega {Ire}), he is connected through his fourth dam to Listed Chautauqua Stakes winner A Little Deep (Deep Field).
Tycoon Star
Tycoon Star is bidding to be the third offspring of Written Tycoon to win the Slipper - after Capitalist and Lady Of Camelot - and, as the winner of G3 Maribyrnong Plate, he also only has the two Slipper winners to look to for performance. They did however win and run second in the Plate, and he had that pre-Christmas run - and win - that seems to factor into so many successful Slipper campaigns.
Tycoon Star | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Yulong) - $350,000 - Lindsay Park Racing
Trainer: Ben, Will, and JD Hayes
Pedigree: It also helps to come from a fast family; dam Miss Iano (Equiano {Fr}) had eight wins over as far as 1200 metres. Close relation Hidden Wonder (Danzero) scored two of her nine wins as a juvenile, but improved immensely with age to with the Listed Belle Of The Turf Handicap and come fourth in a G1 Epsom Handicap.
West Of Swindon
The odds are plainly not in the favour of West Of Swindon (Wootton Bassett {GB}); all 35 winners had won at least one race prior to their Slipper victory, and he enters the race with two seconds in the G2 Silver Slipper Stakes and the Golden Gift to his name.
West of Swindon | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Widden Stud) - $350,000 - Hawkes Racing
Trainer: Michael, John, and Wayne Hawkes
Pedigree: The colt will have to hope that his pedigree can win through; he is the first foal to run for Starcraft (NZ) mare Fife, a half-sister to three-time Group 1 winner Fawkner (Reset) and three-time Group 2 winner Tanby (Galileo {Ire}), who amassed 22 wins between them, 11 of which were stakes races. Their dam Dane Belltar (Danewin) was no slouch either, winning the G3 Auraria Stakes and placing in three Group 1 Oaks contests.
Beiwacht
West Of Swindon may, along with G2 Silver Slipper Stakes winner Beiwacht (Bivouac), be able to cling to the historic precedence around the Silver Slipper; of seven Golden Slipper winners to use it as a lead-up, four have won and the other three finished second. From 27 Silver Slipper winners since 1990 to run in the Golden Slipper, 11 have finished within the first three in the latter event. Only two Silver Slipper winners in that time period has finished 11th or further back in the field.
Beiwacht | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Purchase: Homebred for Godolphin
Trainer: James Cummings
Pedigree: The second stakes winner for Listed Chairman’s Stakes winner Metastasio (Street Cry {Ire}), who is a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Colette (Hallowed Crown). Third dam is blue hen Truly Special (Ire) (Caerleon {Ire}), whose other notable descendents include dual Group 1-winning Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and Hong Kong Champion Sprinter Wellington (All Too Hard). Godolphin do well in this race; most recently, current stallions Anamoe and Cylinder both ran second in their respective editions.
Skyhook
The one week between the G3 Pago Pago Stakes - or its filly companion the G3 Magic Night Stakes - to the Slipper is a big ask for a juvenile, but connections of Skyhook (Written Tycoon) believe he is ready to rise to the occasion. The odds look in his favour when viewed from the Slipper winners’ end; of three Slippers winners to contest the Pago Pago, Stratum and current Coolmore stallion Shinzo won the race, and the third runner finished fourth. However, looking at Pago Pago winners provides a different view; from 26 winners to attempt the double, 9 finished within the first four, but 8 finished between ninth and 12th.
Skyhook | Image courtesy of Sportpix
An interesting note amongst the recent runners; since 2010, Pago Pago winners that finished in the first half of the Slipper field all went on to stand at stud. Those that have finished further back have all been gelded (or exported to Hong Kong, in the case of Brightexpectations).
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Arrowfield Stud) - $575,000 -Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou
Trainer: Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou
Pedigree: The colt comes from excellent stock, being out of a three-quarter-sister to young sire Anders and $1 million earner Ostraka (Pariah), directly descending from American blue hen Appealing Story (USA) (Valid Appeal {USA}).
Wodeton
Still holding on to favouritism as the grand finale approaches, the Chris Waller-trained Wodeton (Wootton Bassett {GB}) has a tough job ahead of him.
Of the aforementioned two Slipper winners to manage the feat without a prior stakes win, Stay Inside profiles the most similar to Wodeton; he too didn’t appear at the track until after Christmas, broke his maiden on debut in January, and was fourth-placed in the G2 Todman Stakes - Wodeton was second - as his lead-up race. Calaway Gal debuted and won a metropolitan event in the spring, adding to the trend of pre-Christmas runners having the advantage.
Wodeton | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Segenhoe Stud) - $1.6 million - Tom Magnier
Trainer: Chris Waller
Pedigree: A son of Listed Morphettville Guineas winner Fiera Vista (Exceed And Excel), who is is a half-sister to G2 Kewney Stakes winner Empress Rock (Fastnet Rock). Second dam Empress Jade (Encosta De Lago) is a half-sister to dual Hong Kong Horse Of The Year Silent Witness (El Moxie {USA}).
King Of Pop
King Of Pop (Farnan) comes into the Slipper off of victory in the G3 Black Opal Stakes, but it isn’t a traditional lead-up race. Only one out of the 35 has run in Canberra’s premier juvenile event, although he did win; Catbird scored his first piece of black-type in the event, and his fourth win in a row, with three weeks between runs going into his Slipper victory.
King Of Pop | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (North) - $800,000 - Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou
Trainer: Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou
Pedigree: He is the second foal from stakes-placed Za Zi Ba (All Too Hard), a half-sister to G1 Epsom Handicap victor Rediener (Redoute’s Choice) out of Snitzel’s Listed Gimcrack Stakes-placed half-sister Wiener (More Than Ready {USA}).
Quietly Arrogant
Another runner who falls into the crowd of having no stakes win to his name, Quietly Arrogant (Capitalist) just sneaks into the category of pre-Christmas runner, having debuted fourth at Randwick in December. He was a winner at his next start, but his best performance to date was most likely his third in the Skyline, where he gets to apply himself to the same form line as Rivellino.
Quietly Arrogant | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Newgate Farm) - $400,000 - China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy
Trainer: Peter Snowden
Pedigree: He is the second stakes performer from dual winner Single Sapphire (Not A Single Doubt). Peter Snowden also trained his older full brother Customized, who was placed in the G3 BJ McLachlan Stakes on debut before export to New Zealand. Close in the family is G2 Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Twilight Royale (Testa Rossa), dam of G2 Sandown Guineas winner Serasana (Snitzel).
Farcited
Farcited is the most expensive of the Farnan sons in the Slipper. He won the $50,500 Black Opal Preview, but was beaten in the Black Opal by paternal brethren King Of Pop. As one of the six runners without a stakes race to his name, he has a big precedent to overcome if he wants to earn his first Group 1 win.
Farcited | Image courtesy of Kia Ora Stud
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Bell River Thoroughbreds) - $1.2 million - Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Kia Ora Stud, the Farnan Partnership, and Mt Hallowell Stud
Trainer: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott
Pedigree: He is the second foal from G1 The Galaxy winner I Am Excited (Snitzel), who has nine stakes wins between her and her versatile half-sister Flippant (Hinchinbrook).
Within The Law
Within The Law (Lucky Vega {Ire}) can lean on a good vein of form in the G2 Sweet Embrace Stakes. Of 17 fillies to win the Slipper, four ran in the Sweet Embrace for two winners - Ha Ha (Danehill {USA}) and Fireburn (Rebel Dane) - and two places. From 27 Sweet Embrace winners to compete in the Slipper, 19 finished in the first half of the field, seven of which were the first three home.
Within The Law | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Darby Racing have won the Slipper before with a bargain buy; $20,000 Classic purchase She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain) won the Silver Slipper and ran second in the G2 Reisling Stakes on her way to Golden Slipper glory. Both fillies also won the R. Listed Inglis Nursery. Her only defeat to date has come at the hands of the unbeaten Rivellino.
Purchase: Inglis Classic Yearling Sale (Yulong) - $30,000 - Darby Racing
Trainer: Bjorn Baker
Pedigree: Out of placed Dundeel (NZ) mare Contract Signed, her pedigree branches off to meet G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Sterling City (Nadeem) and G1 Randwick Guineas winner Kementari (Lonhro),
Tempted
The G2 Reisling Stakes appears to be a fair predictor of success; of the 17 Slipper-winning fillies since 1990, 10 came through the Reisling and six were victorious in the race, with two more running second. No Slipper winner over that period of time has finished further back than fourth.
Excluding Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}), 31 Reisling winners have had a median finish of sixth place in the Slipper, and first place being the most frequent result, accounting for almost 20 per cent of Slipper attempts, followed by second place. In fact, over 45 per cent of Reisling winners finished within the first three spots in the Slipper.
Tempted | Image courtesy of Sportpix
This falls particularly in the favour of Reisling winner Tempted (Street Boss {USA}), a Godolphin homebred filly from one of Darley's richest families.
Purchase: Homebred for Godolphin
Trainer: James Cummings
Pedigree: Her half-brother Kallos (Medaglia D'Oro {USA}) has won three Group contests and a Listed event to date. Dam Calliope (Exceed And Excel) had early speed herself, winning the Listed Gimcrack Stakes and the G2 Magic Night Stakes before running 12th in the Slipper, and Tempted's third dam, the G1 VRC Oaks winner Bulla Borghese (Belong To Me {USA}), has 7 stakes winners and a further three stakes performers directly descended from her.
Bellazaine
The stakes win wild card; no Slipper winner has so much as run in the Listed Lonhro Plate, which was first run in 2014. Bellazaine (Zousain) will instead have to rely on the precedent of the Sweet Embrace, where she was just edged out - by 0.01l - from first place by Within The Law. Crucially, she got that pre-Christmas run out of the way early, debuting in the G3 Gimcrack Stakes followed by a good break to set her up for the autumn.
Bellazaine | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Purchase: Inglis Classic Yearling Sale (Widden Stud) - $160,000 - Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott, and Kestrel Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott
Pedigree: Precocity is not far away in her family, as dam Benella (Not A Single Doubt) descends from Young And Free (Kenmare {Fr}), dam of Villa Verde (Not A Single Doubt) whose daughter My Gladiola (I Am Invincible) looked poised to swoop in the Blue Diamond after her win in the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (fillies) and second placing in the Prelude.
Military Tycoon
A scorchingly fast winner of the G3 Ottawa Stakes in her last start, Military Tycoon (Written Tycoon) doesn’t have a strong race history to hold on to; only two Slipper winners since 1990 have run in the Ottawa and they finished third and fourth in that race or its equivalent. When the race was run pre-Christmas, it was Slipper winner Merlene's (Danehill {USA}) only career defeat.
At the very least, she was a pre-Christmas runner, debuting seventh behind Tycoon Star in the Maribyrnong Plate.
Military Tycoon | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Emirates Park) - $200,000 - Bennett Racing
Trainer: Ciaron Maher
Pedigree: She comes from West Australian speed family; dam Military Reign (Universal Ruler) won eight races, including the Listed Beaufine Stakes, and her full brother Military Ruler won six on WA’s metropolitan tracks.
Marhoona
The Reisling form also bodes well for Marhoona (Snitzel), who ran second after breaking her maiden on debut at Canterbury. She still has to overcome the lack of stakes win to her name amongst the odds, but she has the benefit of Michael Freedman's stewardship - as he was one half of the team that steered Stay Inside to his unlikely maiden stakes victory in the Slipper.
Marhoona | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Pedigree: Homebred for Emirates Park
Trainer: Michael Freedman
Pedigree: She is the fourth stakes performer from Encosta De Lago mare Salma, who has also produced Grangewilliam Stud stallion Hilal. An unraced daughter of G3 Fernhill Handicap winner Salameh (Secret Savings {USA}), a half-sister to sire Al Maher, Salma’s potent broodmare ability comes from being a direct descendent of the prolific Dancing Show (USA) (Nijinsky {Can}). Hilal didn't run in the Slipper, but he did run second in both other legs of the juvenile Triple Crown.
