Australia: Wodeton the key in Golden Slipper

Australia’s biggest race for two-year-olds is coming up Friday night at Rosehill! It’s the Golden Slipper (G1), and it goes as the eighth race of the program. You’ll need to stay up late; post time is set for 1:35 a.m. ET/10:35 p.m. PT However, it’s well worth doing so to take in one of the biggest races in the land down under.

The Slipper has a field of 16 runners without a truly overwhelming favorite, which means there should be value to be had somewhere. In this article, we’ll try to find it and examine Golden Slipper betting strategies ahead of the Rosehill feature! Let’s dive in.

Tempted the 4-1 morning line favorite

#13 Tempted figures to be one of the favorites after an impressive win in the Reisling (G2) less than two weeks ago. In that event, the Godolphin-owned filly rallied from 10th of 11 to get the money beneath jockey James McDonald, and she stopped the timer in a swift 1:08 2/5 for the six-furlong distance.

If you’re looking for holes, however, there are two genuine questions. First, is McDonald landing elsewhere an indication of anything? Secondly, is her lone prior try in Group 1 company an indication these waters might be too deep? Two starts ago, she was seventh, beaten nearly four lengths, in the Blue Diamond (G1) at Caulfield.

McDonald to ride Wodeton

#8 Wodeton is the 9-2 second choice, and McDonald was aboard last time when he was second in the Todman (G2). He’s trained by Chris Waller, who’s best known as the conditioner of Australian fan favorite Winx.

Wodeton broke his maiden impressively at first asking, and his 100 speed rating is one of the highest last-out numbers in the field. Further improvement off of that effort here would make him a major, major player, and for that reason, he’s my top selection.

Others to consider in the Golden Slipper

If you like Tempted, don’t you also have to at least consider #16 Marhoona too? She finished just a neck behind Tempted in the Reisling, which was impressive considering that was just her second lifetime try. She’ll get a rider change for this one, with Damian Lane hopping aboard for Michael Freedman, and for my money, the disparity in odds between her and Tempted seems to be too big. She may need to improve in order to win, but I don’t think it’s a giant leap to expect such a step forward.

#1 Rivellino, meanwhile, is 3-for-3 to this point and attracts Hugh Bowman, who’s spent much of this year to date riding in Hong Kong. Interestingly, his three wins have all come with three different riders up, and he’s shown some versatility. While he did rally from 13th of 16 to win a stakes race two back, he sat a bit closer in his debut, where he was fifth of nine early on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he uses that tactical speed to be a bit closer than some of his rivals, and that could give him the jump when the real running starts.

How I’m playing the Golden Slipper

Wodeton is my key horse in here. McDonald seemed to have his pick of some of the top contenders, and this is where he wound up. He draws well, breaking in barrier 2, and he’s got enough tactical speed to sit behind the pacesetters and get first run.

I’m going to play Wodeton to win, provided his price is close to the 9-2 morning line. In addition, I’ll key him in exactas above and below Rivellino, Tempted, and Marhoona. If my top pick wins, it’s going to be a pretty good day, but with the field sizes what they are, I need to try to make my money in the exotics keying my strongest opinion.