McEvoy to test Slipper waters on Dame

Dame Giselle puts her Golden Slipper credentials to the test in the Reisling Stakes.

Kerrin McEvoy will test two youngsters from the Snowden yard as Golden Slipper rides when he links with Reisling Stakes favourite Dame Giselle and emerging colt Barbaric.

With the scratching on Friday of Cellsabeel because of lameness, the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Dame Giselle is the clear-cut favourite for Saturday’s Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Randwick but McEvoy still expects the race to be a stern test.

“At her best, Cellsabeel was obviously one of the ones to beat but it’s still a quality race,” McEvoy said.

“Mildred has been running well down in Melbourne and Supreme Idea was good from the front the other day.”

Dame Giselle finished third behind Supreme Idea in the Lonhro Plate but will be suited by the extra 200 metres.

She is safely in the Slipper field but McEvoy wants to see her run well to confirm she is a live chance in the $3.5 million race with his only query the wet track.

“She can improve off her last run, soft ground or heavy ground is just a little bit of a concern but they’ve all got to get through it and her work was sharp on Tuesday,” McEvoy said.

“Pete’s got a few angling for positions in the race and we’ll just wait and see how it unfolds on the weekend and we’ll make a call.”

Barbaric is among the Snowden two-year-olds looking to force their way into the Slipper and McEvoy is booked to ride him in Saturday’s Todman Stakes (1200m) and the Black Opal Stakes (1200m) at Canberra a day later.

He is unsure which race the stable is leaning towards but says the youngster has the potential to rise to the challenge if he lines up against a Todman field that includes Slipper second favourite Farnan in the Todman.

“You’ve got to be on an upward curve to be featuring here but I think he can be,” McEvoy said.

Trainer Anthony Freedman appears to have pulled the right rein with Supreme Idea who was scratched from the Sweet Embrace Stakes last Saturday in the hope of striking a rain-affected track in the Reisling.

The Victorian made an impressive Sydney debut when she outsprinted her Lonhro Plate rivals on a soft track and gets a chance to extend her brilliance to 1200-metres.

“She was pretty good on the wet track up there last time and she has drawn a good barrier to adopt similar tactics,” Freedman’s racing manager Brad Taylor said.

“If she is able to win on Saturday then she will put herself right into Slipper contention.”