Australia racing: Golden Rose features deep 13-horse field

An outstanding renewal of the Group 1 Golden Rose at Rosehill on Friday night features the horses and international jockeys who won Sydney’s biggest 2-year-old races last season. The world’s top-ranked rider, England’s Ryan Moore, and star Brazilian jockey Joao Moreira will ride in the million-dollar race for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs. The Golden Rose is the 8th on a 10-race card at Rosehill, broadcast live by FanDuel TV and Sky Racing World, with first post at 9:50 EDT.

Golden Rose: runner-by-runner preview

No. 1 Militarize (gate no. 2, 8-1): Dual G1 winner at seven and eight furlongs beneath Joao Moreira, while giving trainer Chris Waller a sweep of Sydney’s 2-year-old “triple crown.” Militarize closed encouragingly and lucklessly in his six-furlong prep and will be first-time blinkers.  

No. 2 Shinzo (gate no. 10, 5-1): Absent since winning the world’s richest 2-year-old race, the Golden Slipper (first leg of the aforementioned triple crown) in March, beneath Ryan Moore. Shinzo has not raced beyond six furlongs and this race has never been won off a layoff. Waller brushed aside questions of his unorthodox approach, saying that Shinzo has been in work since June: “He’s come back stronger, physically and mentally … he’s ready to go.”  

No. 3 Cylinder (gate no. 6, 7-2): Golden Slipper runner-up; 2-for-2 this season (the Australian racing season begins in August). Overcame trouble to win the Run to the Rose (G2), the traditional six-furlong prep which has produced eight of the past 11 Golden Rose winners.

No. 4 King Colorado (gate no. 9, 6-1): Late-bloomer who won last season’s final Group 1 for 2-year-olds (at a mile in June), when making just his third start. Returned in this season’s first Group 1, the Winx Stakes, at seven furlongs against top-class older horses and finished midfield without ever seeing daylight. Jockey upgrade.

No. 5 Don Corleone (gate no. 5, 30-1): Finished fourth, second, and sixth across the juvenile Triple Crown races. Only seventh of nine in the Run to the Rose, but had some support and was cast wide after a troubled start.

No. 6 Libertad (gate no. 7, 16-1): Group 3 success at 5-1/2 furlongs in seasonal debut, but then poor in the Run to the Rose.

No. 7 Moravia (gate no. 4, 12-1): Followed a debut maiden win with successive longshot seconds in stakes races behind Libertad and Cylinder. Pleasing progress.  

No. 8 Encap (gate no. 3, 10-1): After some luckless runs, broke his maiden in a Group 3 at this track and distance.

No. 9 Butch Cassidy (gate no. 8, 35-1): Third to Libertad; Fourth to Cylinder. Consistent tryer, whose only poor efforts were on wet tracks.

No. 10 Nadal (gate no. 13, 20-1): The tennis legend has another racehorse named in his honor. Not to be confused with the 2020 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner, the Aussie Nadal broke his maiden in his third start before finishing third in the Run to the Rose. Nadal has been supplemented to the Golden Rose for $37,500.

No. 11 Snapback (gate no. 11, 80-1): Showed late-season promise in group races before returning with a facile maiden win at a low-level track as the 1-9 favorite. Massive class rise.

No. 12 General Salute (gate no. 12, 35-1): Decent fourth and sixth-place finishes behind Libertad and Cylinder, respectively. Big odds both times and will likely struggle from his bad gate, but does get blinkers first time.

No. 13 Charm Stone (gate no. 1, 6-1): Lone filly carries 4-1/2 pounds less. Arrives from Melbourne on the back of successive stakes wins versus her own sex. Highly rated but unproven beyond Group 3-level fillies. Also untested clockwise, but has trained well in the “reverse” direction. Co-trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr. won last year’s Golden Rose.

Suggested exacta: 4 - 1, 3, 5

Countdown to the Everest

The world’s richest race on turf is three weeks away on Friday night, Oct. 13 (U.S. time). Following Private Eye’s excellent return to action in winning last week’s The Shorts (G2), the runner-up in last year’s Everest has earned a slot for 2023. Last year’s winner, Giga Kick, the 7-2 future book favorite to repeat, will train up to the Everest following a draining defeat off a layoff in Melbourne two weeks ago. A Golden Rose win by either Shinzo or Cylinder would pique slot-holder interest for the Everest.

The Rosehill card will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV on Friday night (first post: 9:50 p.m. EDT) alongside cards from Kembla Grange, Toowoomba and Belmont.

About Michael Wrona

A native of Brisbane, Australia, Michael Wrona has called races in six countries. Michael’s vast U.S. experience includes; race calling at Los Alamitos, Hollywood Park, Arlington and Santa Anita, calling the 2000 Preakness on a national radio network and the 2016 Breeders’ Cup on the International simulcast network. Michael also performed a race call voiceover for a Seinfeld episode called The Subway.

Coverage of the Golden Rose for Horse Racing Nation is made possible through a sponsorship by Sky Racing World.