As the Sydney Summer Festival of Racing gathers momentum, all eyes turn to Rosehill Gardens for Silver Slipper Stakes Day, reserved for precocious talent and raw, untapped brilliance as a stepping stone to the grand prize.
Run at Group 2 level over 1100 metres (5 ½ furlongs), the Silver Slipper Stakes is a test of juvenile speed and professionalism. Australia’s most promising two-year-olds will charge down the famous Rosehill straight chasing their share of the $300,000 purse and, just as significantly, a golden ticket into the world’s richest race for juveniles, the Golden Slipper.
Since first being run in 1963, the Silver Slipper has served as a crystal ball for those watching closely. It has long been a proving ground for champions in waiting, with graduates such as Luskin Star (1976) and Pierro (2012) going on to Slipper glory and etching their names into Australian racing folklore.
