Golden Slipper 2018: What the jockeys said

Estijaab showed brilliant speed to lead all the way in the Golden Slipper for Team Hawkes and Brenton Avdulla.

Brenton Avdulla (Estijaab): “Ever since I’ve been on this girl since day dot she’s given me a special feel.”

“You dream of riding Golden Slipper winners, when I was 15 and starting apprentice school I was the biggest in the class and they said I had 12 months in the saddle and then I was going back to school.”

Jordan Childs (Written By): “He ran super. He jumped out of the gates well. He wanted to race a little bit fresh through the early and middle stages. He has done a great job this campaign. Bring on the spring.”

Tim Clark (Santos): “I was pretty happy with how he travelled in the run. Although he was a bit wide they weren’t going that quick. He was found wanting from the top of the straight.”

Tommy Berry (Aylmerton): “I really like him. He gave me a great feel. I think the pace of the Slipper was a bit quick for him, especially when they sprinted. His last 150m he was coming at them again. If he pulls up well I think the Sires’ and Champagne are good races for him.”

Blake Shinn (Long Leaf): “Long leaf went amazing. He drew wide and we had to go back. The pace wasn’t as quick as we all anticipated. He had to come wide and followed Performer who didn’t drag me into the race as I had hoped. He sprinted really well from the back of the field. He is an outstanding horse.”

Hugh Bowman (Performer): “I don’t think we saw the best of him today. I make no excuses. We had a decent enough of a run. We probably couldn’t have won from where we were but I thought he could have run a little better if he was on his game. He’s certainly a nice horse for the future.”

Jason Collett (Ef Troop): “He got in behind them and got pushed around quite a bit which wasn’t ideal for him.”

Mark Zahra (Prairie Fire): “He might have just been a bit over the top. He was a bit fresh and didn’t finish off.”

Christian Reith (Sandbar): “He tried his heart out. From the corner I thought he was going to loom into it. All credit goes to Brad [Widdup] and his staff, they’ve done a fantastic job with this horse.”

Luke Currie (Sunlight): “I thought when she straightened she was a chance. She just held her ground from there but was still gallant in defeat.”

Zac Purton (Oohood): “It was a great effort. I thought at the 100m when I was coming I was going to get there but the winner kicked a little bit as I was coming and held me at bay.”

Kerrin McEvoy (Fiesta): “It was a brave run. We were stuck there and out on a limb. When they steadied I moved into the race to be closer on the corner. She still gave a kick and battled on to be beaten not far. It was a super effort.”

Kathy O’Hara (Sizzling Belle): “I was really pleased with her run. I think she is a really progressive type of filly. She was a little bit green in the going and a little bit green in amongst them. She’s got plenty of upside and I think she is going to make a really nice filly next prep.”

Damien Oliver (Seabrook): “The speed there appeared to be on the inside before the race didn’t eventuate. The winner got over pretty cheaply. They had pretty easy sectionals in the middle. It made it difficult for the horses back in the field to make ground but I thought she went really well.”

Ben Melham (Secret Lady): “She ran as well as she could go.”

Craig Williams (Qafila): “She was able to get onto the back of the eventual second horse but she really failed to respond today under the conditions.”