Saturday’s Silver Slipper Stakes at Rosehill Gardens can’t come quick enough for Gary Portelli.
The Warwick Farm trainer will send current Golden Slipper favourite She Will Reign around in the $250,000 Group 2 event, where she is a dominant favourite, currently quoted at $1.60.
She Will Reign has captured the attention of racing fans throughout the country, which is some feat, considering she’s only had two starts.
The flying filly embarrassed a handy Maiden field at Kembla Grange on debut on December 10, cruising home by 8.3 lengths, before backing up a week later and crushing her rivals in the $504,000 Inglis Nursery on a Heavy 8 at Randwick.
She hasn’t raced since, however, she did win a Warwick Farm trial on February 6 by nine lengths when under a stranglehold, She Will Reign clocking 45s for the 808m, which was nearly two seconds quicker than G1 winner English (in an 811m heat on the same day).
“Like everyone else, I just want to see what she can do,” Portelli told G1X.com.au.
“It’s like having a Ferrari in your garage you haven’t been able to get out on the highway yet.
“I wish the race was on this afternoon; she’s that well.”
Portelli knows his filly will take a stack of beating, but he’s well aware this is the biggest test of her short career, and he’s certainly not declaring her.
She steps beyond 1000m for the first time and among her rivals are unbeaten Godolphin colt Veranillo ($6.50) and classy Team Snowden colt Khan ($4.60).
“I’ve had fast horses over the years – you get them out to a distance where they’re uncomfortable and they disappoint you,” Portelli said.
“If she can run the 1100m out and she doesn’t get tired, there’s not a two-year-old around that can go with her.
“If she can’t get the 1100m, obviously that’s going to be a problem for us.
“These are a couple of the best two-year-olds in Sydney; I’ve got a lot of respect for them. It won’t be an easy race for her, an easy kill, that’s for sure.”
Another shrewd investment by syndicators Darby Racing, who paid just $10,000 for dual G1-winning filly Yankee Rose, She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain x Courgette, by Charge Forward) was knocked down for $20,000 at last year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
“If I had’ve had this horse when I first started training I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. I imagine some of these owners are probably in the same boat now,” the trainer said.
“Every morning I send out a little voicemail update on the horse, just to help them get through the morning – I reckon some of them wouldn’t be able to eat until they heard my message.
“It’s a big thing for them, it’s a great thing for us, too, experiencing this type of horse in the stable.”
Following Saturday’s race, all going well, She Will Reign will likely contest the G2 Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on March 4, before taking her chance in the $3.5 million G1 Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill a fortnight later.
Interestingly, She Will Reign is well down in the Slipper order of entry, currently with just $21,800 to her name. Her $291,100 Inglis Nursery winner’s cheque doesn’t count as it was a sales-restricted race.
