The Golden Slipper Stakes is unquestionably Australia’s glamour Two-Year-Old race, attracting entries from all states and New Zealand and receiving the widest publicity throughout the country and in the USA and United Kingdom. It stamps the winner with the hallmark of fame early in its racing career.

The first Golden Slipper Stakes in 1957 was won by TODMAN (ridden by N. Sellwood), who scored by 8 lengths and started 6 to 1 on. There were 11 starters and the result was never in doubt.

For the 1958 race there was a special condition introduced to enable horses not previously entered to be so entered on payment of a "late entry" fee of £1,000 . Two horses were entered under this new condition, the Melbourne colt MISTING and the Sydney gelding CERASUS. The race was won by the 25 to 1 outsider SKYLINE, from the "late entry" MISTING. The other "late entry" finished well back.

The brilliant FINE AND DANDY was successful in the 1959 race, starting at 11 to 8 on favourite. He had previously won two sprint races against older horses before the AAMI Golden Slipper.

Only five starters contested the 1960 AAMI Golden Slipper and the winner, SKY HIGH, was a brother of the 1958 winner, SKYLINE. SKY HIGH started at 7 to 4 on favourite and defeated the brilliant filly, WENONA GIRL, by one and a half lengths.

MAGIC NIGHT became the first filly to win the race when she scored in 1961. She defeated YOUNG BROLGA by half a length, with the champion New Zealand colt, COMMANDING, four lengths away in third place. MAGIC NIGHT started at 15 to 1 and her win made it five winners in a row to her sire, the imported stallion, STAR KINGDOM. The star South Australian filly, PROUD MISS, was a £1,000 "late entry" for the 1962 AAMI Golden Slipper. Of the 13 runners there were 9 fillies and, although PROUD MISS ran a great race, she was unable to withstand the finish of another filly, BIRTHDAY CARD. The time of the race was 1-11.4 which equalled the previous best set by TODMAN in 1957.

There was another "late entry" from South Australia in 1963. This time it was their champion colt, PAGO PAGO. Heavy rains in Sydney forced the club to postpone the race to the following Wednesday, but even with four days break the track was still very heavy. There was a tremendous betting duel between PAGO PAGO and the star Sydney gelding, TIME AND TIDE, and both horses started at 2 to 1. Despite racing very wide on the home turn PAGO PAGO came home the clear winner.

ESKIMO PRINCE, a handsome black colt by the first Slipper winner, TODMAN, scored a very convincing win in 1964. He was owned by Sydney’s leading punter, the late Perc Galea, and started a popular favourite at 7 to 4. The expected challenge from the two Victorian colts, LONGWOOD and STAR OF HEAVEN, did not eventuate, although the latter finished third, 6 lengths from the winner.

A field of 13 started in the 1965 race. It included three Victorian horses, the colts STAR AFFAIR and KING STAR and the filly CITIUS, and a South Australian gelding GLENSHAROLD. However, none of these visitors could match the speed and brilliance of the Sydney filly, REISLING. She led all the way and smashed the race record by three-tenths of a second in running 1-11.1. STAR AFFAIR was 1 ¼ lengths away second and CITIUS a similar distance away in third place.

In 1966, the photo-finish camera was used for the first time to decide the winner of the AAMI Golden Slipper. Halfway down the straight it appeared that ACADEMY STAR, a $2,000 "late entry" would win, but South Australian filly, STORM QUEEN, flashed home down the outside to win by a head. Another filly VERY MERRY, was three-quarters of a length away in third place.

Nineteen horses representing four states contested the race in 1967. The field included the two top Queenslanders, PRINCE GAUNTLET and TOD MAID, the Victorian filly BEGONIA BELLE and the South Australian colt, JOKING. The race was won by the 40 to 1 outsider SWEET EMBRACE, a daughter of TODMAN and the first maiden to win the race since its inception.

The hitherto unbeaten colt BISCAY, was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Read's ROYAL PARMA in 1968. However, Victoria was to have her revenge the following year, when the Melbourne champion VAIN, completely eclipsed a star studded field which included Sydney’s champion filly, SPECIAL GIRL, owned by the past Chairman of the Sydney Turf Club, the late Mr. W. Longworth.

The 1970 winner, BAGUETTE, gave veteran jockey George Moore his first AAMI Golden Slipper win, a feat which he was to repeat the following year on FAIRY WALK. BAGUETTE became Australia’s greatest stakes-winning two-year old.

In 1972 the race record of 1-11.1 established in 1965 was equalled by JOHN’S HOPE, giving jockey K. Langby his first success in the AAMI Golden Slipper.

A sensational three horse fall which included the odds on favourite IMAGELE marred the 1973 race. The event was won by the Victorian gelding TONTONAN who gave the powerful Roy Higgins-Bart Cummings combination its second win in the race.

Trainer T.J. Smith and jockey K. Langby were successful in 1974 and 1975 with the two brilliant fillies, HARTSHILL and TOY SHOW, giving T.J Smith four winners of the AAMI Golden Slipper.

Trainer Bart Cummings won his third AAMI Golden Slipper in 1976 when his brilliant filly VIVARCHI led all the way in 1-11.7, equalling the metric record for the race.

Patrons at the 1977 AAMI Golden Slipper saw one of the greatest performances by a two-year old when the champion Newcastle colt LUSKIN STAR, showing brilliant speed, won by 7 lengths taking 1.7 seconds off the race record. The winner again showed the influence that STAR KINGDOM has had on the race, as his sire KAORU STAR is a STAR KINGDOM stallion.

A top field of two-year olds again contested the running of the 1978 AAMI Golden Slipper with victory going to the champion Victorian gelding, MANIKATO.

1979 was a wide-betting race with bookmakers betting 9 to 2 the field. With 100 metres to go, the South Australian speedster DAWN COMMAND looked set for a win, but a tremendous finishing burst by CENTURY MISS carried her to victory by a head. It was only the second time that Photo-Finish camera was used and it gave Bart Cummings his 4th success in the AAMI Golden Slipper. 18 year-old apprentice, Wayne Harris, became the youngest rider to win the event.

Polar Success made it four wins in a row for fillies in the 2003 Golden Slipper and clocked a slick 1:09.07, making it very hard for the colts and geldings to win when they have to concede 3kg.

She won in a professional manner, in what was a surprisingly clean run race, and had too much kick over the last 100m.

In a surprising move early, most jockeys seemed to be under instructions not to get into a speed battle consequently making it fairly easy for speedsters drawn wide like Polar Success, Hasna, Halibery and Exceed And Excel to cross the field, largely negating the impact of the wide draws. (First 600m in 34.69 secs and final 600m in 34.38secs)

Once this happened, the whole race changed with backmarkers facing a much more difficult task than many expected, had the speed been right on from the outset.

Horses like Legally Bay, Kusi and Secret Land all failed to capitalise on their good barrier draws by pushing forward early.

The first six home were fillies, confirming the 3kg pull in the weights could make the Golden Slipper a female benefit for many more years to come.