Can Darby Racing go one better in this year's Golden Slipper after their mighty midget Yankee Rose finished second last year?.
Bookmakers think they can. Following the facile victory of Gary Portelli's hugely impressive filly She Will Reign in Saturday's $500,000 Inglis Nursery (1000m) at Randwick, bookmakers were quick to send the daughter of Manhattan Rain to the top of the market.
Sent off an
Quickly gathering speed, She Will Reign took control of the race, quickening away to win by four lengths in 58.57 seconds on a heavy (8) track.
The Mark Newnham-trained Diamond Tathagata (Hinchinbrook) finished strongly for second with Bjorn Baker's African Rainbow (Foxwedge) a further short head back in third. (photos Steve Hart).
"That acceleration she showed when Ben asked her," Portelli enthused. "She lengthened stride and put it beyond doubt straight away."
Portelli said the lead-up races to the Golden Slipper had not been set in stone.
"I'll speak to the owners," he said. "I would have liked to go for the Blue Diamond, take the softer option, but we'll wait and see."
While the $2 million
She is the first foal of the Sydney winning Charge Forward mare Courgette, herself a $25,000 Inglis Premier Yearling.
Courgette is a daughter of the unraced Marscay mare Our Farm Girl a sister to Listed Gimcrack Stakes winner Millie and a half-sister to Listed Winter Cup winner Touch Of Sun (Snippets) out of the Group II Reisling Slipper winner and Group 1 AJC Oaks runner-up Sunshine Sally (Cheraw).
Courgette has a yearling filly by Shamus Award and a colt foal by Time For War.
Arrowfield Stud's royally bred stallion Manhattan Rain has three lots heading to the Gold Coast in January and five at the Inglis Classic.
