This Saturday’s card at Rosehill is shaping up as one of the most open and hotly contested Golden Roses in recent memory and it’s just the headline act in a stacked afternoon of Group racing.
The one to beat in the Group 1 Golden Rose is Golden Slipper winner Guest House, who has well and truly shaken off the “Golden Slipper curse” with an impressive rails-hugging win in the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes on his return. He steps up to 1400m for the first time on Saturday in a race that will go a long way to settling the debate over this year’s premier three-year-old. He’ll need to hold off fellow Group 1 winner Campione D’Italia, already proven at the distance, and master trainer Chris Waller’s well-stocked hand of Tron Bolt, Stormy Marco (Craig Williams), Central Europe and St Gotthard (James McDonald). It’s a genuinely open renewal which is hard to split.
The World Pool is live across the full ten-race program including the HKJC Shannon Stakes. Private Eye is no stranger to big-race day success, but Skyhook arrives on the back of back-to-back wins and looms as a serious danger. The fillies and mares get their moment in the Golden Pendant, where Lazzura is poised for another victory. A strong first-up finish and a map that sees her sitting closer to the speed, paired with James McDonald back in the saddle for Chris Waller, make her one to watch closely.
Saturday at Rosehill decides who’s really the best three-year-old in the country right now, on a card packed with Group-class action from start to finish. Spring is in the air, the form is red-hot, and this is one meeting you won’t want to miss.
