Trainer Anthony Cummings hasn’t given up on blue blood filly Scandiva making an unlikely run towards the Golden Slipper.
Scandiva, with links to Black Caviar and All Too Hard, became the latest winner from Australian breeding’s hottest family, with a decisive victory in the Emerald Hills Estate Plate (1100m) at Warwick Farm on Thursday.
Black Caviar has a 24th win in her sights in the William Reid Stakes on Friday night but the Cummings stable will be just as happy as the great mare’s connections if Scandiva can take her winning sequence to two in nine days time.
The two-year-old will be given her chance in the Magic Night Quality, one of last two ballot exempt races for the Golden Slipper run on Rosehill Guineas day.
“She’s got the buy her way into the Golden Slipper because unfortunately she wasn’t nominated early on,” stable foreman Edward Cummings said.
“So she’ll probably go to the Magic Night and provided she wins and fronts up well enough the next day she’ll take her part.”
Scandiva raced in blinkers for the first time but it was a gear change that didn’t quite go to plan, according to jockey Peter Robl.
“All the way down the side all she wanted to do was look at the leader,” Robl said.
“She was paying more attention to it than what she should be doing herself.”
Parking outside the frontrunner Kudero, Scandiva, the well-tried $3.60 favourite, gained the upper hand in the straight before surging to a clear-cut two-length win over Gai Waterhouse-trained stablemates Countryman ($5.50) and Florid Affair.
