Espionage back for Silver Slipper tilt
Espionage, the two-year-old that got the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott juvenile juggernaut rolling this season, finally returns to racing in the Group 2 $300,000 Silver Slipper (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
Bott said Espionage has become the “forgotten horse” of the stable’s star-studded twoyear-old team.
“We put Espionage away after the Breeders Plate purely to forget about everything else and concentrate on setting him for the Golden Slipper,’’ Bott said.
Espionage edged out Straight Charge and Prost for a stable trifecta in the Breeders Plate in September.
Since that two-year-olds race, Straight Charge has won easily at Randwick and Prost won the Canonbury Stakes to frank the form.
Bott confirmed Espionage and Straight Charge would meet again in the Silver Slipper as the stable continued to assemble its squad for the $5m Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 23.
“They are both ready roll,’’ Bott said.
“In the lead-up to the Breeders Plate, Espionage and Straight Charge did a lot of work together and there to wasn’t much between them.
“They are both quite forward, their goals are every post is a winner from here.’’
Bott said it would be virtually impossible now to keep his top two-year-olds apart in the build-up to the Golden Slipper next month.
“At this stage, our plans are to run Espionage and Straight Charge in the Silver Slipper then both horses and Shangri La Express will probably meet in the Todman Stakes (March 9),’’ Bott said.
“Lady Of Camelot is likely to be our only Blue Diamond starter at Caulfield on Saturday and then Storm Boy and Prost are going to the Skyline Stakes (March 2).
“We are looking at the Black Opal (March 10) with Anode and Fully Lit could go to the Black Opal or the Todman. They’re all on the verge of qualifying for the Golden Slipper and we are trying to get them peaking for that.’’