The filly who challenged the template for winning a Golden Slipper will have the records books on her side in the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes.
Yankee Rose almost helped David Vandyke re-write the Golden Slipper training manual, running second in the world’s richest two-year-old race without an autumn lead-up run.
Yankee Rose
History promises to be much kinder in the Sires’ when the filly, who cost $10,000 as a yearling, starts as one of the favourites in Saturday’s $1 million race at Randwick.
A modern-day honour roll of Golden Slipper horses going one better in the Sires’ is headed by the 1995 winner Octagonal and Vandyke can see no reason why Yankee Rose can’t do the same.
“I’m going in with an air of confidence on Saturday,” he said.
“It was an amazing performance (in the Golden Slipper). She was feeling it for a few days after the race as we expected but I’m really happy with the way she has done.”
The main part of Yankee Rose’s preparation for the Sires’ was completed on Wednesday with a piece of work on the course proper at Warwick Farm.
“She put in a really good gallop yesterday morning and she was nice and bright before and after the gallop,” Vandyke said.
Yankee Rose shares Sires’ favouritism with Telperion, the Godolphin-trained colt who ranked alongside her as one of the best finishers in the Golden Slipper.
Telperion gives the impression he will relish 1400m at Randwick and Vandyke is in no doubt Yankee Rose is also made for the Sires’ stage.
“I went into the Slipper expecting her to hit the line hard,” Vandyke said.
“She hit a bit of a flat spot in the straight and it took her a while to get through her gears trying to pick up Capitalist.
“And I really feel she will excel over further and the Sires’ will be more to her liking.”
