Shinzo Takes Golden Slipper Victory

A Thrilling Finish

Champion trainer Chris Waller and global racing powerhouse Coolmore combined with Shinzo to finally win a dramatic Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Ryan Moore on Shinzo and James McDonald riding Cylinder, trying to outdo each other as the noise from the bumper crowd of 21,093 reached a crescendo.

Superpowers Collide

There was Waller versus James Cummings, the nation’s two dominant trainers, running one-two in the world’s richest two-year-old race. There was Coolmore and Godolphin, the global racing superpowers, with their prized colts Shinzo and Cylinder.

Shattered Dreams

There was a shattered Annabel Neasham waiting to learn what happened to her filly, Learning To Fly and jockey Chad Schofield, who fell near the 600m. And there was Tom Magnier, trying to make sense of it all as he shares in the ownership of both Shinzo and Learning To Fly.

The Victory and the Concerns

Shinzo ($16), by Arrowfield’s super sire Snitzel out of Samaready, took 1m 9.65s to complete the course and suddenly earned a $50 million price tag with his Golden Slipper win. Waller prepared a hat-trick of winners including a Group 1 double after his earlier success with Lindemann in the Rosehill Guineas but this was his first Golden Slipper. For a racing and breeding operation like Coolmore, to win the $5 million Longines Golden Slipper with a superbly bred colt they bred means everything. “I’m just hoping Learning To Fly and Chad Schofield are OK. We have finally won the Golden Slipper,” says Tom Magnier.

The Race’s Significance and Waller’s Valuable Opinion

The Golden Slipper is a much-awaited race in Australia and Waller has watched more Golden Slippers than anyone his age, from a young age. Waller becomes the first trainer to complete Australian racing’s “Golden Slam” after preparing the winners of the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate, The Everest and now the Golden Slipper. Waller says, “emotionally it means a lot to me, simple as that. But I’m not here to prove things to anyone. We haven’t changed a lot with our two-year-olds. We’ve got better quality horses to train that come on earlier.

Confidence in Shinzo

Despite being beaten in his first two starts, Waller was always confident that Shinzo had Group 1 ability, and the team backed themselves to know that they could get speed into him because he’d just learned to race. Waller says, “today, fourth-up after a confidence-boosting win last week, he knew exactly what to do.

Ryan Moore’s Thoughts

English superstar Ryan Moore only had two rides at Rosehill and left with two Group 1 wins on Shinzo and Dubai Honour (Ranvet Stakes). Ryan Moore called down says, “Tom (Magnier from Coolmore) called me last week at this time and asked if I’d like to come down. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here. “I’m sure he’s going to be better when he goes up in trip. We were lucky we got a nice draw, managed to follow Cylinder through and it all just went beautifully for us.”

Credit: https://www.racenet.com.au/news/2023-golden-slipper-stakes-result-and-replay-20230318

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