Monday, 26 March 2012:
Clarry Conners won't have the opportunity to add a fifth Golden Slipper trophy to his collection this year and is pinning his autumn Group One hopes on Satin Shoes.
The filly has been entered for three races at Rosehill on Saturday ahead of a tilt at the Galaxy (1100m) at Randwick three weeks later and the Warwick Farm trainer believes she is a Group One winner in waiting.
But first he has to decide which race Satin Shoes runs in after covering all bases with her this week.
She has been nominated for the Group Two weight-for-age Challenge Stakes (1100m), the Group Three Birthday Card (1200m) - a quality handicap for fillies and mares - and the Listed Darby Munro Stakes (1200m) for three-year-olds with set weights and penalties.
He has also entered Report in the Golden Slipper qualifier, the Magic Night Stakes, but said the filly was unlikely to start, leaving him without a Slipper contender after sending Dear Demi to the spelling paddock.
"I will have to sit down and study the nominations and the weights and think about where she goes," Conners said.
"None of them are easy races and the Challenge is harder now that Hay List is in.
"I had eliminated him from the equation."
Runner-up to three-year-old Foxwedge in Friday night's William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley, Hay List was one of 12 entries for the Challenge along with exciting Melbourne sprinter Bel Sprinter and Rain Affair.
Bel Sprinter missed the Newmarket won by Hay List due to a slight injury while Rain Affair ran sixth.
Satin Shoes is owned by Dr Edmund Bateman who also races the John O'Shea-trained Foxwedge.
The filly has raced twice at Group One level for ninth in the 2011 Golden Slipper and third behind Sepoy and Foxwedge in the
Coolmore Stakes in the spring.
She had her most recent start in Adelaide where she finished second to Go The Knuckle in the Group Two Centrebet Classic on March 12 at Morphettville.
"She has done a treat since then," Conners said.
"The Galaxy is her main aim and hopefully she can win another race on the way."
The Birthday Card attracted 20 entries including Group One winner Hurtle Myrtle while there were 21 nominations for the Darby Munro.
Check out our
FREE full form, ratings for meetings in nine countries each and every day.
