It doesn’t carry Black Type, but the $1million ATC Golden Gift (1100m) at Rosehill on Saturday has a big pot of prizemoney which is enough to assure the winner of a start in next year’s Golden Slipper and since it’s inception three of the past four winners have gone on to run in the world’s richest race for two year-olds.
Previous winners of the Golden Gift have been Barber (C Exceed and Excel), Sejardan (C Sebring), Sneaky Five (F Fastnet Rock) and Dame Giselle (F I Am Invincible) with all going on to the Golden Slipper bar Sneaky Five, who did not race again at two.
This year’s race has a short priced favourite in the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained colt Shangri La Express, who won impressively on debut at Randwick last month and will look to keep the winning run going for his young first season sire Alabama Express, who sired Kalavas to win the Group III VRC Ottawa Stakes last month.
Shangri La Express drawn barrier 14 which does open the door for challengers including Microphone filly Miss Judas, who was second to him on debut.
A couple of interesting runners come out of the Breeders Plate after finishing unplaced following good efforts at the official trials at the start of spring.
Expensive Blue Point (IRE) colt Scampi has a tongue tie on and will be ridden more quietly judging by his most recent trial and Snitzel colt Volatile has barrier five and also went around in that trial won by Storm Boy.
Of the unraced brigade, Godolphin homebred Exceed and Excel colt Gram is an eye-catcher on type and looked to have something in his only trial finishing second, albeit only over 740m.
Gram is a full brother to Group III winning juvenile Zulfiqar, but unlike his brother, who is a relatively plain bay, Gram has picked up the flashy chestnut colouring of Golden Slipper winning sire Rory’s Jester, who appears back in his pedigree. His dam Sayf Shamal (USA) is a Northern Hemisphere bred daughter of slick Group II winning juvenile Alizes (also chestnut with baldy face), the grand-dam of Godolphin superstars Alizee and Astern.
