Two places in the $5M Golden Slipper are on the line at Rosehill this Saturday, with the running of the 1100m Golden Gift. This race presents itself as a good opportunity for some two-year-olds to make their debut, while there are others that already have some race experience and are looking to build on their form. There are 12 juveniles facing the starter, with just three of the 12 yet to run an official race.
Looking at the market, Dabble has Shalatin as $4.20 favourite, marginally ahead of last-start winner, Sejardan ($5). Nobel ($7.50), Ojai ($9) and Queen Of The Ball ($9) are the other runners to be marked in single-figures, at the time of writing.
However, it isn’t just limited to those five! As a two-year-old race, it is extremely unpredictable and there are plenty of chances in the race, so we have dissected each of their chances for you! Read on below to find out runner by runner preview of the 2021 Golden Gift along with The Shark’s Golden Gift best tips.
1. Sejardan (12) – $5
Jockey – Jason Collett
Trainer – Gary Portelli
Sejardan was extremely impressive in the G3 Breeders’ Plate, beating his rivals by over a length. Gary Portelli is known for his ability to work wonders with two-year-olds, and that is clearly on show with this colt. He will be storming home strong and has the bonus of a race-win under his belt already, which only one other in this race can say.
Can’t wait to see classy colt Sejardan step out in the $1 million Golden Gift on Saturday. 💪@GaryPortelli pic.twitter.com/GjPdEuXDrb
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) November 3, 2021
2. Nobel (8) – $7.50
Jockey – Tommy Berry
Trainer – Annabel Neasham
Nobel was very well fancied in the Inglis Banner two weeks ago, being the second favourite in the lead up to the race despite being fourth emergency. He eventually got into the final field but finished 3 lengths back in third. He was purchased for $2.1M, so he is clearly well bred, and his trials in the lead up suggested he was worth the money, so maybe you can forgive him and blame the tight Moonee Valley track for his bad performance.
3. Contemporary (9) – $15
Jockey – Joshua Parr
Trainer – James Cummings
Being one of just two horses to have two runs under their belt, Contemporary has some advantages over the others. However, his last race saw him come up against five others in this race, and they all beat him home.
4. Shirvo (6) – $13
Jockey – James Innes Jnr
Trainer – Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou
Shirvo was one of those horses to beat Contemporary past the post, but he was still 1.5L off the winner, Ojai. He did make ground nicely in that race, but would need to reach a whole new level here.
5. Shalatin (5) – $4.20
Jockey – Jay Ford
Trainer – Joseph Pride
Shalatin slotted into 5th, between Shirvo and Contemporary, but actually had a really nice run. He jumped from the second widest barrier, raced three-wide and came from the back of the field to finish less than two lengths off the pace, overtaking Contemporary in the finish. His last 200m was outstanding there and it indicates he would eat up the extra 100m on offer here.
6. Cannonball (4) – $20
Jockey – Jan Van Overmeire
Trainer – Anthony & Sam Freedman
Happy to leave Cannonball out. He ran 5th down the Flemington straight a few weeks back and the horse that came second on that day ran sixth in the Maribyrnong Plate last Saturday.
7. Mount Brilliant (10) – $18
Jockey – Tim Clark
Trainer – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
The first of three debutants, Mount Brilliant comes from a clear leading stable of two- and three-year-old runners. However, his own camp has suggested that the wide draw will be tough for him to overcome and that he may not be as sharp as others in the race, especially those with a run under their belts already.
8. Ojai (3) – $9
Jockey – Jenny Duggan
Trainer – James Cummings
Ojai was an impressive first-start winner, beating home five rivals that she meets again in this race. She jumped well, settled nicely and then had an impressive burst home over the last 200m, indicating that the step up in distance should be no problem. She gets a nice soft draw to get her into the run, and it would be quite a story with Jenny Duggan getting the call up for Godolphin.
Close finish to the Kirkham Plate @aus_turf_club with @godolphin’s Ojai scoring in a tight finish. The well-bred filly by @DarleyAus Exceed And Excel is a grand daughter of the gutsy, Romneya, family Bint Marscay & Bollinger 🙌🏻@anz_news @TDNAusNZ @BreedingRacing @pedigreeupdate pic.twitter.com/o7piabOg1T
— Thoroughbred Content Management (@thoroughbredcm) October 23, 2021
9. Queen Of The Ball (7) – $9
Jockey – Alysha Collett
Trainer – Richard & Michael Freedman
Queen Of The Ball was the filly that Ojai grabbed on the line in that run, leading throughout the race but unable to hold on. She was a bit wayward down the straight, not running in a straight line and it may have cost her. If she can behave better down the straight, she is every chance of holding on.
10. Snitcat (2) – $13
Jockey – Kathy O’Hara
Trainer – Gary Portelli
The second Gary Portelli runner, Snitcat, is lucky enough to have had two runs already. She ran behind Coolangatta, the Golden Slipper favourite, first up before finishing third behind Ojai and Queen Of The Ball last time out. She had every chance to catch the leading two in the straight but couldn’t quite get there and some of those behind her looked to be finishing better.
11. Ebhaar (11) – $16
Jockey – Robbie Dolan
Trainer – Peter & Paul Snowden
While she is yet to have a proper run, Ebhaar’s trial over 1045m was extremely impressive. She over raced at the start, was forced wide throughout and seemed to coast by her opponents to comfortably win the trial. The wide draw is sticky, but she has shown exceptional closing speed and looks to be a red-hot chance in this, if they choose to run her.
12. Birdonawing (1) – $34
Jockey – Brodie Loy
Trainer – Annabel Neasham
This Fastnet Rock filly is having her first start after a relatively decent trial, finishing second by just under a length. It is a big step up from a 735m trial to a 1100m G1 race, and she may just need the run here.
Final Word
While there has only been two runnings of the Golden Gift, we can see that it isn’t always a positive to be the pre-race favourite. In both 2019 and 2020, the favourite didn’t even place! If we are looking for more stats from the first two runnings of the race, we can see that fillies got the better of the boys in both years.
I Am Invincible filly Ebhaar, trained by @SnowdenRacing1, wins a 2yo trial at Randwick on Friday from Lean Hero (Maurice) and Calgary Stampede (Snitzel). @tabcomau @EmiratesPark pic.twitter.com/LkJZSt9aAx
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) October 28, 2021
There are only five fillies in the race, with three of them completing the trifecta in the Kirkham Plate, the race that Dame Giselle came second in before winning this race in 2019. However, we are going with a different filly to come out on top, Ebhaar. Her trial over 1045m was extremely impressive, forced wide throughout before showing a nice turn of foot without Robbie Dolan having to put much work through her.
If she can repeat a similar sort of effort, with a bit more help from Dolan on race day, she should be storming home down the outside and be in with a massive chance. If you have a Rocket Boost available on Dabble, we’d recommend using it to get Ebhaar’s odds even bigger than what the other bookies are offering, and we are more than happy to take that here.
Best Golden Gift Tip: Ebhaar – Each-Way ($16/$4.40)
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our Golden Gift page for all your punting needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of Dabble.
