Champion jockey James McDonald has given Tempted a glowing Golden Slipper endorsement after partnering the James Cummings-trained filly to a strong win in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes at Randwick.
A daughter of Street Boss out of the mare Calliope, Tempted had been narrowly beaten in the Widden Stakes at Rosehill two starts ago before heading to Melbourne where she finished midfield in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield after not having the best of luck in the home straight.
After settling back in the field, $2.90 favourite Tempted chimed in strongly down the outside in the home straight in Saturday’s Reisling (1200m) before going on to defeat Marhoona ($11) by a neck, with another length back to Inkaruna ($5.50) third.
“She’s a beautiful filly and she’s just promised a lot,” McDonald said.
“She rides really well and she’s a genuine Golden Slipper hope.”
McDonald won a Gimcrack Stakes and Magic Night Stakes on Tempted’s dam Calliope, who was unplaced in Capitalist’s Golden Slipper in 2015, and the star hoop sees plenty of similarities between them.
“She was a little weapon of a filly,” McDonald recalled.
“She was crazy in the gates though, hence why she didn’t reach her full potential. I think she won a Gimcrack and won a Magic Night and this filly is very, very similar.
“She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in two weeks.”
Estijaab in 2018 is the most recent filly to complete the Reisling Stakes and Golden Slipper double.
Tempted was $26 for the Golden Slipper but has firmed to $9 equal second favourite behind $4.50 favourite Wodeton, who McDonald rode to a runner-up finish in the Todman Stakes 35 minutes after the Reisling.
Cummings was pleased to see Tempted “get back in the game” with her performance on Saturday after saying not everything went right for the filly in the Blue Diamond.
“We’ll get the opportunity to let the dust settle and see how this lines up amongst all of the (Golden Slipper) lead-ups,” Cummings said.
“But I like that she’s come out of the Blue Diamond, she’s not taken a backward step from there.
“She’s just freshened up beautifully at the farm between runs and we’ve barely done much with her, yet she’s been able to deliver off the back of a strongly run six furlong race here at Randwick.
“She flooded home up the middle, perfectly to plan, and she’ll step off that and she can go right into the Slipper with a sail full of momentum and an absolute truckload of confidence.”
Jockey Jason Collett said it was a fantastic run by runner-up Marhoona.
“She may have gotten a bit lost once she hit the front but she’s gone with that winner after doing it at both ends,” Collett said.
