The Golden Slipper picture has had more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel, but trainer Tony Gollan can see no reason to doubt the credentials of his undefeated Magic Millions winner Skirt The Law.
The filly will make her Sydney debut in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m) at Randwick next Saturday off the back of a scintillating six-length barrier trial win at Doomben.
Currently sitting on the second line of Golden Slipper markets at $7, behind another unbeaten filly in Inglis Millennium winner Learning To Fly ($4 fav), the Queenslander will be out to cement her claims for the $5 million juvenile showpiece with another bold performance.
The 2023 Golden Slipper puzzle has been changing weekly but Gollan’s focus has been solely on his filly and getting her to the March 18 race in the best possible condition.
“I think the two-year-old races are still wide open,” Gollan said.
“Each week we’re seeing a changing of the prices and changing of the guard so to speak, but at the moment I’m just worrying about my filly and getting her to Sydney next week in good shape.
“If she runs as well as I think she can, that will take care of itself.”
After landing back-to-back wins at her first two starts at Doomben, Skirt The Law was impressive in beating Gimcrack Stakes winner Platinum Jubilee in the Magic Millions Classic in January.
Gollan was pleasantly surprised by the ease of her recent trial win under regular jockey Ryan Maloney in which she ran smart time.
“Did I expect her to win like that? Not really, but she was trialling against four or five unraced two-year-olds so you never know how it’s going to play out,” Gollan said.
“But she ran good time, she hasn’t left an oat since she got home from it and she looks super.”
The Sweet Embrace Stakes will be one of six black-type races at Randwick next Saturday which heralds the first Group 1 meeting of the Sydney autumn with the running of the weight-for-age Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) and the Surround Stakes (1400m) for the three-year-old fillies.