We take a look at some memorable Golden Slippers from the past, ahead of Saturdays 2011 Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill racecourse.
CRYSTAL LILY
Prominent owner David Moodie took a $150,000 gamble on flying filly Crystal Lily by paying the late entry fee in the 2010 Golden Slipper – and it paid off in spades.
With Hong Kong-based Brett Prebble in the saddle, Crystal Lily was second favourite at $6 and overcame her waywardness in the straight to down Decision Time by half a length – and give Moodie the $2 million first prize.
“I always had the feeling she had the X-factor,” Moodie said.
“I thought she was a certainty beaten in the Blue Diamond (when 2-1/4-lengths sixth to Star Witness).
“This is the biggest moment of my racing life. I won the (1996) Caulfield Cup with Arctic Scent and that was special, but this is number one.”
THE FIRST RUNNING
The eight-length demolition job performed by 1-6 favourite Todman in the inaugural running of the Slipper in 1957 immediately established the dash for cash at the pinnacle of Australasian juvenile racing.
Trained by Maurice McCarten at Randwick and ridden by the legendary Neville Sellwood, Todman was a freakish son of Star Kingdom who, amazingly, sired the first five winners of the Slipper.
As a two-year-old, Todman won five of his six starts and in so doing set four time records.
His only defeat was in the AJC Sires’ Produce over seven furlongs (1400m) when he had his colours lowered by another champion Tulloch, still considered one of the greatest Australian gallopers of all time.
Todman exacted his revenge on Tulloch five days later in the Champagne Stakes and went on to become a successful stallion, siring two Slipper winners – Eskimo Prince (1964) and Sweet Embrace (1967).
THE RIVALRY
In 1969 the Slipper winner was obvious – depending whether you lived in Sydney or Melbourne!
Sydneysiders would not hear of defeat for wonder filly Special Girl while those from Melbourne were just as adamant the Slipper would fit the flying Vain.
Vain had won the Maribyrnong Plate by eight lengths and both the Merson Cooper Stakes and VRC Sires’ Produce by four lengths before the Slipper but even that wasn’t enough to stop Special Girl starting favourite in the Rosehill showpiece.
Vain made a one-act affair of the Slipper, with jockey Pat Hyland utilising the son of Wilkes’ blistering natural speed to break the hearts of all his rivals as the colt became the first Victorian to win the race when he led throughout to score by four lengths.
THE STAR
A colt from the NSW coalfields, Luskin Star, took Australian racing by storm in the autumn of 1977.
The Max Lees-trained superstar won his Slipper lead-ups with consummate ease, scoring by 4-1/2 lengths in the Silver Slipper and 3-1/2 lengths in the Todman Slipper Trial.
Despite his impeccable form Luskin Star was only equal favourite at 11-4 with the Tommy Smith-trained Blazing Saddles in the big race.
Punters who took the odds were laughing all the way to the bank as Luskin Star streeted his rivals by seven lengths and smashed the race record by more than a second.
Confirming his greatness, Luskin Star went on secure the two-year-old triple crown of the Slipper, Sires’ Produce and Champagne Stakes.
AWESOME OLLIE
Damien Oliver achieved every Australian jockey’s dream when Forensics scooted home along the inside to win the nation’s most famous race for two-year-olds in 2007.
Oliver earned his place in racing folklore as only the sixth jockey to win the Grand Slam of the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper.
He joined the exclusive honour roll previously consisting of only Neville Sellwood, Roy Higgins, Pat Hyland, Mick Dittman and Jim Cassidy.
The Golden Slipper also cemented Oliver’s comeback from a broken neck which kept him out of the saddle for more than a year.
Oliver rode his first Melbourne Cup winner Doriemus in 1995 but will always be remembered for his emotion-charged victory salute to the heavens after piloting Irish raider Media Puzzle to success in the 2002 Cup as a tribute to his jockey brother Jason who died a week earlier after a fall in a barrier trial at Belmont Park.
Oliver has won four Caulfield Cups, Mannerism (1992), Paris Lane (1994), Doriemus (1995) and Sky Heights (1999), and two Cox Plates on Dane Ripper in 1997 and Northerly (2001).
Forensics’ Slipper win was the icing on the cake.
FREEDMAN’S MASTERSTROKE
On February 27, 1993 an unraced Lee Freedman-trained filly stepped out for her first start in the Listed Kindergarten Stakes at Warwick Farm – just five weeks later she gave him his first Golden Slipper win.
In one of the quickest Slipper-winning campaigns ever, Bint Marscay had her second start two weeks after her debut when an unlucky second to Rock Review in the Group Three Sweet Embrace Stakes over 1200m at Canterbury.
Freedman then sent her around in the Group Two Magic Night Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill and she led all the way to thump Tristalove, who went on to win 11 of her 26 starts including the Australasian Oaks, by 3-3/4 lengths.
Then there was just a seven-day back-up to the Slipper in which Bint Marscay, ridden by Mick Dittman, drew barrier 14 of 16.
It didn’t matter.
Bint Marscay jumped sweetly and relaxed beautifully, enjoying the run of the race before bounding away to beat Justice Prevails by 2-1/4 lengths.
The Marscay filly proved to be the trailblazer for Freedman who went on to win the next three Golden Slippers with Danzero, Flying Spur and Merlene.
THE “GOOD THING” BITES THE DUST
The champion Todman won the inaugural Golden Slipper in 1957 as the prohibitive 1-6 favourite and 16 years later another odds-on pop lined up for the world’s richest race for two-year-olds, Imagele from the Randwick stables of the legendary Tommy Smith.
Imagele started the 4-9 favourite on the strength of six consecutive wins but in one of the most dramatic moments in the Slipper’s history he came to grief in a three-horse fall approaching the home turn.
Imagele, ridden by Kevin Langby, clipped the heels of another runner and fell, bringing down Baron Bold (Chris Gwilliam) and Iago (Ron Quinton).
The race was won by the Bart Cummings-trained Tontonan who had been no match for Imagele when third in the traditional lead-up event, the Todman Slipper Stakes in which subsequent top sprinter Zephyr Bay was runner-up.
Tontonan went on to win 12 of his 16 starts including the 1974 Doncaster Handicap but Imagele was to grab an even bigger slice of racing history with his clean-sweep of the 1973 three-year-old triple crown – the Canterbury and Rosehill Guineas and AJC Australian Derby.