Winning the Group III ATC Breeders Plate last year was not enough to guarantee the winner Espionage a start in the Golden Slipper, so not surprisingly the $1million Golden Gift is being seen as an attractive spring option for a talented juvenile and a couple of heat winners at Hawkesbury on Monday will no doubt have the race on their radar.
Set to be run for the first time as a Black Type race at Rosehill on Saturday week with Group III status putting it on a par with the Breeders Plate and Gimcrack Stakes, the Golden Gift has been run five times previously and won by the following horses:
2023 Shangri La Express
2022 Barber
2021 Sejardan
2020 Sneaky Five
2019 Dame Giselle
All of the horses barring last year’s winner Shangri La Express have won subsequent stakes races and four of the five contested the Golden Slipper, with Sneaky Five the only one not to and that was due to injury, which ruled her out for the remainder her juvenile season.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable won the race last year with Shangri La Express and produced two interesting colts to win trials at Hawkesbury on Monday morning for the Newgate Farm/ China Horse Club and partners.
Farnan colt North England has already been to the races once finishing a very close third to his stablemates King Kirk and Tempestuous in the Breeders Plate and was given a solid tune up in his heat winning by half a length for Tim Clark.
