Lady Of Camelot brought a record eighth Golden Slipper (G1) to trainer Gai Waterhouse, a second to co-trainer Adrian Bott and her sire—Yulong’s Written Tycoon —and a first for Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock with a breathtaking victory in the world’s richest 2-year-old race at Rosehill Gardens March 23.
The Slipper purse of AU$5 million is equivalent to US$3,258,000 (AU$1 = US$0.65).
After six months of build-up and a stud deal with Coolmore worth tens of millions of dollars, Waterhouse and Bott’s much-vaunted Justify colt Storm Boy damaged his chances with a rare dawdling start as $2.60 favorite, but performed admirably to finish third on a sub-optimal inside run, eventually finishing 1 1/2 lengths adrift of the winner.
“He didn’t begin as cleanly as I would have liked. Had to switch my run toward the inside which wasn’t ideal,” said Storm Boy’s jockey Ryan Moore after his first ride on the colt. “He’s a very talented horse. Didn’t have the rub of the green today. Probably improve when he goes a bit further.”
While Coleman was being hailed the winner at the 50-meter mark, the runner-up peaked on his run somewhat while Lady Of Camelot, who’d been held up early in the straight, surged on his inside to win by a head.
The filly beats the boys!! 😮
LADY OF CAMELOT and @blake_shinn see off COLEMAN and STORM BOY to win the G1 Golden Slipper (1200m), the world’s richest race for two-year-olds! 👸🏼
It’s an eighth Golden Slipper for @GaiWaterhouse1! 🔥pic.twitter.com/XUG2B0NBZD
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) March 23, 2024
Victory pushed Waterhouse two Slippers ahead of the previous record for the race set by her father Tommy Smith, and came four years after her first in partnership with Bott, 2020 Slipper winner Farnan.
This win gave Yulong Stud’s Written Tycoon a 15th top-level winner and a second Slipper after 2016 winner Capitalist, and capped a star-studded day for Zhang Yuesheng’s Victorian farm, celebrating three group 1s.
Lady Of Camelot’s win will feel particularly special for Waterhouse, coming via a homebred for her old friend Glenn, the octogenarian New Zealand millionaire breeder and philanthropist. The result also continues a remarkable run for Glenn’s broodmare Miss Debutante, the Kia Ora-bred whose only three foals to race have all been group winners and Slipper starters.
Lady Of Camelot’s second dam is 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner More Than Real , by More Than Ready. More Than Real is out of the multiple stakes-winning Dehere mare Miss Seffens, both Kentucky-breds. American celebrity chef Bobby Flay campaigned More Than Real, who was purchased by Australian bloodstock agent James Bester for $675,000 at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall mixed sale at the conclusion of her race career.
The Golden Slipper trophy
Winning rider Blake Shinn, who claimed his second Slipper having ridden Capitalist to victory.
“It was very exciting. I was getting held up there for a bit, but I just had to bide our time and wait for the opportunity to present and when it did she really let down well,” said Shinn. “I had the horse to quicken and we just needed the gap and she was great. I’m so happy…
“This is one of the iconic races in Sydney, but it’s the world’s richest 2-year-old race and it’s the one us jockeys here want to win.”
