Golden Gift winner North England has been scratched from the Silver Slipper at Rosehill after unsatisfactory blood test results were returned.

Co-trainer Adrian Bott confirmed the decision to withdraw the colt from his scheduled race on Saturday as a precaution but assured that the Golden Slipper campaign remains on track.

“I wasn’t 100% happy with his blood results, so we’ll wait for another day,” Bott explained.

North England, who is Tulloch Lodge’s top contender for the Golden Slipper this year, was considered a strong contender for the Silver Slipper (1100m), sitting at $11 in Golden Slipper betting alongside online bookmakers.

The horse who finished second to North England in the Golden Gift, West Of Swindon, is still set to run at Rosehill, with co-trainer Michael Hawkes feeling confident about his chances.

West Of Swindon came from near the back in his debut, racing from a wide gate, and finished strongly, just missing victory. Hawkes is eager to see how he performs from a better barrier, especially with the formidable 2025 Golden Slipper favourite Wodeton in the field.

“If he’d had a better draw, he’d have been much closer and probably won the race,” Hawkes said.

“His sectionals tell the story. He had to go back from the bad draw, but with a good barrier, he would’ve been closer to the pace, creating his own luck.”

“With barrier one for the Silver Slipper, he should be much closer this time.”

“Wodeton is a great horse, but so is ours.”

West Of Swindon was quoted at $5 for the Silver Slipper on Thursday and $17 for the Golden Slipper, while Wodeton’s odds shortened to $1.95 following North England’s withdrawal.