Overreach has displaced Villa Verde as the Golden Slipper favourite following a dominant display in the Widden Stakes at Rosehill.
Villa Verde beat the Gai Waterhouse-trained filly in the Debutants Stakes last spring but Overreach showed she was more at home in Sydney when she led all the way to run more than a second faster than Never Can Tell, winner of Saturday’s Canonbury Stakes for colts and geldings.
Overreach winning the Widden Stakes 2013 - Photo by Steve Hart
The $1.75 favourite raced away in the straight to put 5-3/4 lengths on Everage ($31) with Brilliant Bisc ($4.80) another 2-1/4 lengths third.
TAB immediately firmed Overreach from $17 to $5 with Villa Verde, who will have an exhibition gallop at Bendigo on Sunday ahead of a Sydney campaign, at $8.
“This is a Golden Slipper smile and she is a Golden Slipper horse,” Waterhouse said.
Overreach ran 1:04.21 for the 1100 metres while Never Can Tell was clocked at 1:05.33.
The filly’s owner George Altomonte said he and Waterhouse had decided to keep Overreach in Sydney rather than target the Blue Diamond Stakes.
“I told Gai we should keep her in Sydney rather than go down there and go backwards,” Altomonte said.
“She got a bit lost in Melbourne last time. Two-year-olds can sometimes go in both directions but I thought she would be better here.”
Altomonte bred 2008 Golden Slipper winner Sebring but the closest he has come with one of his own was in 2003 when Hasna ran third to Polar Success.
Waterhouse’s other leading contender for the Golden Slipper on April 6 is Whittington, the $15 fourth favourite and second to Never Can Tell in the Canonbury.
Tommy Berry, the rider of Magic Millions winners Karuta Queen and Driefontein, said Overreach was by far superior.
“People are always asking me to compare the horses but this is definitely the best,” he said.
Waterhouse’s other Widden runner Most Joyful, a full sister to More Joyous, finished fifth.
