Phillip Stokes knows, given his postcode starts with a three, that he’s in no position to be talking tough with Stretan Ruler when it comes to the Golden Slipper.
But the Pakenham trainer is convinced he is on the right track to give Victoria a rare win in Sydney’s prized juvenile event.
Stokes’ son of Wild Ruler will continue his build up to the $5 million Golden Slipper in this Saturday’s $300,000 Group 2 Todman Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
Despite announcing himself with a dominant win in the Silver Slipper, Stretan Ruler sits behind a number of local horses yet to post a rating equal to his in betting on the Golden Slipper, but Stokes understands his place within the market.
“I’m tipping it’s because we’re not a Sydney trainer,” he said.
“A Melbourne horse hasn’t won it for a long time, that’s how hard it is to do, but we’ve given the horse every chance by getting up there early.
“Chad Schofield came out and galloped him on Saturday at Rosehill and he was really happy with him.
“We couldn’t be happier with the horse.”
Stretan Ruler is aiming to become the first Victorian horse since the Mat Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained Crystal Lily in 2010 to win the country’s premier two-year-old race, which will be run at Rosehill on March 21.
The only other Victorian to win it since Lee Freedman’s quartet of successes that ended with Merlene in 1996 was the David Hayes-trained Miss Finland, who won in 2006.
Stokes elected to run Stretan Ruler in the February 21 Silver Slipper over the Group 1 Blue Diamond, in which he would have started from the outside barrier.
The colt had no issues with the Sydney direction, streaking home by 3-1/2 lengths from Eviction Notice, who will again be a rival on Saturday.
The only two greater winning margins in the Silver Slipper in the past 30 years were put up by Mossfun, who won by four lengths en route to Golden Slipper success in 2014, and Amelia’s Dream, who won by 6-1/4 lengths but never made it to the Slipper.
Ominously for Stretan Ruler’s rivals, Stokes said that was the colt’s first workout the Sydney way of going.
“I’m pleased we didn’t go to the Blue Diamond because he then had plenty of time to get up there and get used to going that way around, because he hadn’t been that way around before he went to the races,” he said.
“He’s going to take a lot of natural improvement out of that.”
Stretan Ruler has drawn barrier four in the Todman Stakes, which has attracted a field of 11 including leading Slipper fancy Paradoxium, who will jump from gate five.
