The field has been declared and barriers allocated for Saturday’s $5 million Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill.
The two leading chances Storm Boy and Switzerland drew inside barriers for the breed-shaping contest.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Espionage, to be ridden by three-time Golden Slipper-winning jockey Tommy Berry, was named the first and only emergency.
The 2024 field is made up of 12 colts, no geldings and four fillies, with Espionage also adding to the colts representation should he secure a start.
Despite Espionage not making the field of 16, the Waterhouse and Bott stable have an amazing 43.75 per cent of runners with seven members of their stable making the field, headed up by favourite Storm Boy which will be ridden by last year’s winning rider, champion UK jockey Ryan Moore.
Other starters for Tulloch Lodge are Fully Lit, Shangri La Express, Straight Charge, Prost and Lady Of Camelot.
Other stables with multiple runners are the father/son training teams of Peter and Paul Snowden and Tony and Calvin McEvoy.
The Snowdens are chasing their second Golden Slipper win as a training partnership with Bodyguard and Holmes A Court while the McEvoys will saddle up Rue De Royale and Dublin Down as they chase their first win in the race.
Last year’s winning trainer Chris Waller saddles up leading chance Switzerland, while James Cummings, the 2019 winning trainer, prepares Traffic Warden.
Michael Freedman win the race in 2021 when training alongside his brother Richard but this year he goes it alone with Manaal while Blue Diamond winner Hayasugi runs for Victorian trainer Clinton McDonald.
No – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight
1 – STORM BOY – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Ryan Moore – 2 – 56.5kg
2 – FULLY LIT – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Sam Clipperton – 1 – 56.5kg
3 – SHANGRI LA EXPRESS – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Regan Bayliss – 3 – 56.5kg
4 – RUE DE ROYALE – Tony & Calvin McEvoy – Chad Schofield – 14 – 56.5kg
5 – TRAFFIC WARDEN – James Cummings – Craig Williams – 6 – 56.5kg
6 – STRAIGHT CHARGE – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tim Clark – 9 – 56.5kg
7 – SWITZERLAND – Chris Waller – James McDonald – 7 – 56.5kg
8 – BODYGUARD – Peter & Paul Snowden – Mark Zahra – 10 – 56.5kg
9 – DUBLIN DOWN – Tony & Calvin McEvoy – Hugh Bowman – 13 – 56.5kg
10 – COLEMAN – Matt Laurie – Kerrin McEvoy – 4 – 56.5kg
11 – HOLMES A COURT – Peter & Paul Snowden – Tom Marquand – 8 – 56.5kg
12 – PROST – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Adam Hyeronimus – 11 – 56.5kg
13 – HAYASUGI – Clinton McDonald – Jamie Kah – 16 – 54.5kg
14 – LADY OF CAMELOT – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Blake Shinn – 5 – 54.5kg
15 – MANAAL – Michael Freedman – Jason Collett – 17 – 54.5kg
16 – ENEEZA – Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman – Damian Lane – 15 – 54.5kg
17 EMG – ESPIONAGE – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tommy Berry – 12 – 56.5kg
BARRIER DRAW WINNERS
What a race. Storm Boy has tightened his grip on the Golden Slipper drawing barrier 2. It takes most of the luck out of the equation for Ryan Moore, and he should muster and land in a commanding position in the first four. The Waterhouse/Bott camp hit the jackpot with Fully Lit (1), Shangri La Express (3) and Lady Of Camelot (5) also drawing low, even though they are far from their No.1 seeds. The draw for Switzerland is a slight win in gate 7. He should settle not too far off the speed, but he’ll be giving Storm Boy a decent head start at the top of the straight. Had the superstar colts swapped barriers, it would’ve made things more interesting. As the market suggests, it’s now well and truly advantage Storm Boy.
BARRIER DRAW LOSERS
Straight Charge would’ve been much better off drawing gates 1-4 so gate 9 makes his task a lot tougher, given he will have to work hard early to land in a good spot. Blue Diamond winner Hayasugi has been handed the visitor’s draw in barrier 16, and Jamie Kah will need a miracle to win from out there. Fillies Manaal (17) and Eneeza (15) have also drawn the carpark and have rightly drifted in betting.
■ Barrier draw winners and losers compiled by Matt Williams.
POST-BARRIER DRAW BETTING (TAB)
$2.10 – Storm Boy
$4.50 – Switzerland
$11 – Straight Charge, Lady Of Camelot
$15 – Espionage
$17 – Hayasugi
$21 – Fully Lit, Shangri La Express
$34 – Bodyguard, Coleman, Manaal
$51 – Traffic Warden, Holmes A Court, Prost
$71 – Dublin Down, Eneeza
$201 – Rue De Royale
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The Rosehill track was rated a soft (7) at acceptance time. The rail will be in the 2-metre position on Saturday.
The Bureau Of Meteorology forecast for the Parramatta district is.
Tuesday – Partly cloudy. 29.
Wednesday – Cloudy (90% chance of 4-15mm of rain). 26.
Thursday – Cloudy. 22.
Friday – Partly cloudy. 25.
Saturday – Partly cloudy (70% chance of 0-5mm of rain). 24.
CLICK HERE to get the fields and free formguide for the Rosehill meeting on Saturday.