Monday, 24 March 2025: Golden Slipper day saw some high-rating performances from some progressive horses.

AUTUMN GLOW winning the HYLAND RACE COLOURS DARBY MUNRO STAKES

Autumn Glow 

Big return from Autumn Glow who remains undefeated, taking the Darby Munro in good time. About a length inside standard, she's run faster overall than the speedy Austmarr later in the card, and run to a new peak rating at Racing & Sports, coming in at 117.

To run a new peak first-up from a setback at 1200m is very promising, given her previous peak was 112, and she's put her hand up to say she's still in the conversation for the best filly in the country.

Unfortunately we won't get to see her clash with stablemate Lady Shenandoah , who has run also 117 on the RAS scale at her past couple, and has the CV to say she's the best filly in the country.

The calendar looks a bit tricky for Autumn Glow here though. The Queen Of The Turf (1600m) is in three weeks and would require a back-up to get there which seems unlikely.

The Group 2 Arrowfield Sprint (1200m) is probably the route they take and she can certainly win that, but this wasn't the win of a sprinter, coming off the bit earlier than rivals but simply proving far too classy in the end.

Autumn Glow has put up a strong reminder about her ability, and it might not be until the Spring that we really see what she's capable of.

 

Via Sistina 

Not a whole lot to report on with Via, who hasn't had to do anything out of the ordinary to win the Ranvet Stakes comfortably. She's run to 123 on the RAS, one pound higher than her win last start.

The line you can take for that very slight rating increase is Lindermann , with the margin between those two increasing by just over a length, and Fawkner Park  who was a further half-length off Via this time.

She's now run 120-122-123 in three runs this time in and hasn't really found a strongly run race yet, which we know from the Cox Plate can see her explode to a new level.

Fawkner Park is going really well, although I'm not sure what his race is. I'd be backing him up in the Tancred this week, then looking to Queensland.

VIA SISTINA winning the RANVET STAKES at Rosehill in Australia.

Broadsiding 

An outstanding ride by J-Mac got Broadsiding home in the Rosehill Guineas, caught wide early but pressing on to eventually find the 1-1, and I think that's made all the difference.

I thought the drift was quite strange with plenty keen to take him on, but he's now beaten Aeliana  and Swiftfalcon  home three times in a row so it's hard to make too many excuses for the beaten brigdade.

In terms of a rating, Broadsiding has run 118 in all three starts this campaign, and that's resulted in a fairly poorly rating Rosehill Guineas by historical standards.

That list, since 2000, is topped by Anamoe and Dundeel who both ran 125 in 6+ length wins.

The Rosehill Guineas has been on a downward trend the past few years. Castelvecchio ran 121 in 2020 but The Autumn Sun, Mo'unga, D'argento and Riff Rocket all ran to 116 on the RAS scale. The Autumn Sun was better than that raw rating and no doubt Riff Rocket would've been too.

I think the 125 mark, like Anamoe, is off the table for Broadsiding. I think the only way he really puts up a performance like that is if he finds a wet track again, which I still have a feeling he relishes.

Not sure what they'll do with Broadsiding now. The Anamoe campaign was to tackle the big runs in the QE and there's a good chance they do that, but while Anamoe nearly started favourite in that at 3, I'd have to be firmly against Broadsiding unless we did get a lot of rain and double figures.

Of the beaten brigade, Aeliana was great again and should go to the Derby, avoiding Treasurethe Moment and tackling the boys again. Swiftfalcon won't win races without more tactical speed but I don't think 2000m is his go- he can be the blouser in the Doncaster but will still need a lot to go his way.

Jockey : JAMES MCDONALD after, BROADSIDING winning the SKY RACING ROSEHILL GUINEAS

Gringotts 

Griongotts beat some highly credentialed rivals to take the George Ryder and stamp his place as one of the horses to beat in the Doncaster Mile.

He got the right run here compared to a horse like Fangirl  who did it tough and just missed, but Gringotts continues to improve, running to a new peak of 122 on the RAS scale, up from 115.

That said, his run with the big weight first up certainly hinted he was up to this sort of level, and 55.5kg is a winnable weight in the Doncaster.

Fangirl was outstanding again and is flying. If they go back to mare's grade for the Queen Of The Turf, I expect she'll be starting a short-priced favourite.

Ceolwulf  was also very good again and is right on track. He'd have to give Gringotts 2kg in a Doncaster but a high-pressure 1600m at Randwick can see him elevate again, if that's the route they go before backing up in a Queen Elizabeth.

GRINGOTTS winning the THE AGENCY GEORGE RYDER STAKES

Golden Slipper

Over to the feature of the day where Marhoona  was given an outstanding ride by Damian Lane to take the race at just her third start, the first ever horse to do so.

She's run to a RAS rating of 117, which is unexpectedly on the low end of Golden Slipper winners.

Only Belle Du Jour, Estijaab and Polar Success (all 116) have run a lower rating to win a Slipper, and given how the two-year-olds have been rating all season, that's not a surprise.

Sectioanlly speaking, Wodeton  was the run of the race, coming home in the fastest last 600m, while Tempted   was a touch unlucky, although I'm not convinced she wins if she gets out earlier as the other two were holding her on the line.

From reports it sounds as if Wodeton will pull up stumps but he'd be the horse to beat in the Sires if they do press on, while Marhoona also heads to the paddock.

The Sires & Champagne winner have to come from somewhere and the Golden Slipper likely provides the winner of those every year, but I'd be looking for different form if possible.

A horse like Vinrock  coming up from Melbourne is rated 109 which, theoretically, would've finished fourth if you plugged that rating in, and there's a good chance the three ahead won't be in the Sires.

MARHOONA winning the TAB GOLDEN SLIPPER at Rosehill in Australia.

Private Harry 

An interesting edition of The Galaxy with Private Harry maintaining his unbeaten record, running a new peak rating with Racing & Sports.

He's run to 119 first-up having gone 115 in the Sunlight slot race prior to a spell, and 119 isn't bad for a Galaxy, especially for such a lightly raced horse.

Eduardo and Nicconi top the Galaxy winners, both running to 125, while Nature Strip went 123 in his win. 119 is higher than Zapateo (117),  Mariamia (118) and Shelby Sixtysix (115) the past three years.

While Private Harry was afforded a beautiful run by Ashley Morgan, the same couldn't be said of Briasa  who was enormous from a hopeless position.

Adjusting for the sectional markup, there's very little between the two on these runs, and while Briasa is clearly very talented, you can't give away such big starts at this level.

It sets up an interesting T J Smith Stakes, where Private Harry is now favourite. At weight-for-age, I'd be backing Joliestar to beat anything out of this race, but here's hoping Harry & Briasa can put their hands up as the next wave of sprinters we need.