Monday, 13 August 2007: Champion Melbourne jockey Damien Oliver will be reunited with Golden Slipper Stakes winner Forensics at Caulfield on Saturday.
 | Damien Oliver and Forensics
Photo by Bronwen Healy | |
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Oliver was booked for Forensics after trainer John Hawkes decided to switch the filly from Sydney to Melbourne for Saturday's $100,000 Quezette Stakes (1100m).
Oliver was the "pick up" rider for Forensics in the Golden Slipper at Rosehill in March after she was a late inclusion in the final field.
Forensics would have been an emergency for the Slipper but made the cut at acceptance time after Hawkes made the sacrificial withdrawal of stablemate Camarilla to give her a guaranteed start.
The move was too late the stable's number one rider Darren Beadman, who had ridden Forensics at her first three starts but had to make an early commitment to a guaranteed stable runner in the Slipper and selected Shaft as his mount.
It all fell into place for Oliver as Forensics drew the coveted rails barrier, a telling factor that enabled the jockey to win the Slipper for the first time.
Hawkes nominated Forensics for last Saturday's San Domencio Stakes at Randwick after she performed strongly in a recent Rosehill barrier trial and also said he was considering the Premiere Stakes at Rosehill this Saturday as a first-up option for the three-year-old.
However he decided to switch the filly to Melbourne to help manage his star-studded team as he has several of his other Group One stars resuming on Staurday at Rosehill including Mentality and AJC Sires Produce Stakes winner Camarilla.
Beadman will be back from his trip to England for the Shergar Cup for the pick of the stable rides at Rosehill on Saturday.
A noted rival for Forensics in the Quezette Stakes will be the David Hayes-trained Blue Diamond Stakes winner Sleek Chassis, a failure behind the Hawkes filly in the Golden Slipper.
Hayes also plans to kick off the classy colt Zizou, runner-up in both the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper, on Saturday in the $100,000 Vain Stakes at Caulfield.
Hayes is considering another Sydney trip for Zizou for next month's $1 million Golden Rose at Rosehill.
Oliver will ride the beaten Golden Slipper favourite Murtajill for Rosehill trainer Tim Martin in the Vain Stakes, the first time in his career he has not been ridden by Jim Cassidy.
