All the Golden Slipper talk is how the colts will be too good for the fillies and why horses rarely win the race first-up.
Try telling that to Yankee Rose’s owners.
Yankee Rose – Golden Slipper 2016
Her group of first-time owners can’t see a way Yankee Rose doesn’t win Saturday’s $3.5 million race.
Darby Racing’s Scott Darby, who paid $10,000 for Yankee Rose before syndicating the filly, said her ownership group includes people from all walks of life.
“We’ve got some construction workers, retirees, receptionists – there’s a lot of people that dreamed of owning a horse in it,” Darby said.
“Racing has always been promoted as the rich man’s sport, but through syndication it’s allowed people to get in for a fraction of the price.
“I don’t think anyone in the horse would have dreamed of being in the Slipper.”
Yankee Rose is one of five runners boasting an unbeaten record heading into Saturday’s two-year-old race.
Despite her record, the David Vandyke-trained filly will attempt to defy history and bookmakers’ expectations by winning the Slipper first-up, in her first run since November.
Sebring won a Slipper after a seven-week break in 2008, but almost all winners have at least one lead-up run.
Colts are heavily favoured to win this year with Yankee Rose rated a $21 chance.
But her owners are refusing to accept any negativity about the filly’s prospects.
“They’ve got her across the line already,” Darby said.
“They just think the world of this filly, they really can’t see her getting beat.
“To them, she’s a champion.”
Darby Racing’s other Slipper runner, Scarlet Rain, could also provide a group of mostly first-time and all-female owners with a Group One fairytale.
For one man whose ex-wife is listed among those owners, the Gai Waterhouse-trained filly has provided a rally point for a family touched by death.
“He’s had a lot of tragedy, he’s lost his daughter,” Darby said.
“The horse has just brought the family together.”
