Henry Field is hoping he can add another Golden Slipper (G1) winner to his Newgate Farm stallion roster following the March 22 running of the AU$5 million, 1,200-meter juvenile turf feature at Rosehill Gardens.
Newgate is one of only two studs in Australia, alongside Coolmore, that is home to two horses who have won the Golden Slipper—2016 winner Capitalist and 2021 victor Stay Inside.
This year, the Hunter Valley-based operation will have two chances in the Slipper, courtesy of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained North England and the Peter Snowden-trained Quietly Arrogant, who is by Capitalist. The race drew a full field of 16, plus two extras.
“As a breeder, it defines what we do every day,” Field said. “We’re trying to breed the best, the fastest, the most mature horses that we can.
“Australia breeds the best 2-year-olds. Our juveniles are the best anywhere in the world, and if you breed or you race the Golden Slipper winner, you’ve got the best 2-year-old on the planet. It’s a very special thing.”
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Newgate owns both North England and Quietly Arrogant in partnership with China Horse Club, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy Racing.
“Not only do you need an incredibly talented horse to win the race, you need a horse that is mentally very tough, physically very tough, and all those attributes are the key attributes that stallions throw through to their progeny,” Field said. “That’s why, if you look at the Golden Slipper honor roll, it’s such a key race for future champion stallions and that’s why they are so valuable if they win. Our partners in these two colts are really excited, I’m excited, it’s one of the most exciting weeks, so much goes into it.”
Waller bullish On Wodeton’s chances
Trainer Chris Waller is confident that his colt, favored Wodeton, can produce the goods in the Golden Slipper.
The son of Wootton Bassett was the $4.80 market leader for the group 1 feature as of March 20, despite having won just one of his three outings to date.
Having made a winning debut over 1,100 meters at Rosehill in January, the colt has since run third in the 1,100-meter Silver Slipper (G2) and second in the 1,200-meter Todman Stakes (G2) and will have the addition of blinkers this weekend from barrier 2.
“The preparation is exactly what we set out to do, three runs before the Golden Slipper,” Waller told Racing NSW. “Ideally he would have won his last start, it wasn’t quite the case, but the reason for the three runs is to learn as much as you can and prepare the horse for the grand final. I’m happy with the prep, confidence levels are therefore high from a preparation perspective.
“We know how good he is, we’ve just got to get him to do it in the grand final. Obviously it’s a sprint race, but we still feel he has more to offer by being held up and ensuring he has that lethal finish over the last 200-300 meters.
“The only concern of barrier 2 is getting out. If you’ve got enough speed, you’ll get out. I think he’s got enough speed. Barrier 2 means you conserve energy, barrier 2 means you’re in your comfort zone. Wider barriers have to do a lot of work and cover extra ground so there’s certainly a lot of positives about barrier 2.”
