If James McDonald is given the choice to ride Storm Boy or Switzerland in the Golden Slipper, who should he pick?
That’s one of the burning questions in the racing industry at the moment with Coolmore’s star pair heading to the Slipper at Rosehill on March 23.
Both gallopers have impressed in the lead-up to the richest two-year-old race in the world with McDonald piloting the colts in their respective last-start wins.
With England’s champion jockey Ryan Moore booked to ride either Storm Boy or Switzerland in the 1200m affair, the question remains – which colt?
It has not yet been decided who McDonald and Moore will ride, but Coolmore Australia’s Tom Magnier says a decision will be made in the coming days.
With that in mind, we’ve asked leading form analysts Dean Watling and Mick Gannon who they would pick if they were given the choice.
“There’s no question for mine, I think Storm Boy is the better horse,” Watling told SENTrack’s Giddy Up.
“Switzerland was terrific on the weekend but if you look at the race, he had the ideal setup with Straight Charge getting absolutely carved up by All Inclusive and I thought his run was as good, if not better, than the winner if you take it all into account.
“Both Storm Boy and Switzerland give that vibe that 1400-1600m in time will be their optimum trip as Switzerland was only getting warm late over that fast tempo.
“I’d be taking Storm Boy but I’m not taking anything away from Switzerland or Straight Charge from the Todman.”
Gannon concurs with Watling, siding with Storm Boy as his preferred choice but concedes the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained colt wouldn’t want to draw barrier one or two given his ability to step slowly out of the gates.
“If I were giving James McDonald advice, I’d say ‘get on Storm Boy’,” added Gannon added, who certainly was not sitting on the fence.
“I think no matter what gate you draw with Storm Boy other than 1 or 2, I think he’s going to be the deserved favourite in the race and your only minor concern is if he’s slow from barrier 1 or 2.
“I think he’s the most dynamic, he puts himself in the race, if he drew a wide gate with Switzerland you’d be a bit more concerned because you’re going to be back and wide.
“That’s why I think with Storm Boy he’s the better of the two horses however the barrier draw will be the difference on the day.
“If they both draw alongside each other in six or seven then Storm Boy would be the pick for sure.”
The Sportsbet market agrees with Watling and Gannon, with Storm Boy the clear $2.30 favourite ahead of Switzerland at $4.50.
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