Hong Kong based Australian jockey Brett Prebble is on standby to ride Shelford in the Golden Slipper with trainer John O’Shea anxiously waiting to see if the colt gets a run.
Shelford is just outside the 16-horse field with final decisions on Saturday’s two-year-old winners All Too Hard and Ichihara yet to be made.
Black Caviar’s half-brother All Too Hard won the Pago Pago while Ichihara won Magic Night Stakes, gaining automatic entry into Saturday’s $3.5 million Slipper at Rosehill.
Ichihara’s owner George Altomonte would have to pay a $150,000 late entry fee to run the Allan Denham-trained filly.
O’Shea already has Faustus and Ashokan safely in the field with Jim Cassidy and James McDonald their respective riders.
“If he is an emergency then we will look at someone locally but if he gets in Brett Prebble will ride,” O’Shea said.
Gerald Ryan will also have three runners in Amorino, Cavalry Rose and Snitzerland while Gai Waterhouse will have four.
The Waterhouse runners are No Looking Back, Driefontein, Pierro and Raceway.
But while weight of numbers are with those three trainers, weight of money is with the Nathan Tinkler-owned All Too Hard from the Hawkes training team and Samaready from the Mick Price stable.
Samaready held sway after her Blue Diamond Stakes win while All Too Hard kept his unbeaten record intact with win number three in the Pago Pago.
Senior training partner John Hawkes said the colt had come through the race well and he and Tinkler would make the final decision on a start by Tuesday morning.
On Sunday the two were locked at $3 with Pierro at $7.50 and No Looking Back at $9.
Premier trainer Chris Waller is looking forward to having his first runner in the race in Jade Marauder after Fast And Sexy was scratched at the barrier in 2011.
Glyn Schofield will ride Jade Marauder who cemented her place with victory in the Sweet Embrace Stakes on March 17.
The all-important barrier draw for the Slipper will be conducted around midday on Tuesday.
