Golden Slipper Hope Santos Heads 2018 Skyline Stakes Field & Odds

The Skyline Stakes 2018 field faces off at Royal Randwick on Saturday as a lead-up to the coveted Golden Slipper and a single-figure fancy for the Group 1, Santos, is tipped as the two-year-old to beat.

2018 Golden Slipper bound Santos heads Saurday’s Skyline Stakes field & odds at Royal Randwick. Photo: Steve Hart.

Prepared by Adrian Bott and six-time Golden Slipper winning trainer Gai Waterhouse, progressive I Am Invincible colt Santos is one of just seven juveniles in the mix for this weekend’s Group 2 $200,000 Schweppes Skyline Stakes (1200m).

Set to run as Randwick Race 3 at 1:40pm (AEDT) on the card headlined by Winx running first-up in the Chipping Norton Stakes, the Skyline Stakes is a key preparatory race for young colts and geldings heading towards the Group 1 $3.5 million Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill in a fortnight.

The shortest-priced of the Skyline Stakes hopefuls in futures Golden Slipper odds at Ladbrokes.com.au is Santos at $9.

The last start Pierro Plate (1100m) winner at Randwick on February 17 also leads Skyline Stakes betting at a short $2.20 for the weekend with Tim Clark retaining the ride after guiding the galloper to a two and a half-length win first-up.

It is a typically open affair in the Skyline Stakes odds this Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival with a further four runners under double-figures for the win including Spin at $5.50.

Peter & Paul Snowden saddle-up the returning colt, also a son of I Am Invincible, whose last start back in mid-October produced a second in the Victory Vein (1000m) at Randwick.

Spin has trialled well twice since, most recently on February 19 winning a Rosehill hit-out over 900m and the booking of top hoop Kerrin McEvoy makes him a competitive danger.

There is also early money coming in for Irish Bet who is the Skyline Stakes market mover backed in from $8 to $7.

John O’Shea trains the Smart Missile colt, winner of the Restricted Listed Inglis Nursery (1000m) here in mid-December before a lead-up third to Santos in the Pierro Plate.

Rounding out the best fancied of the early Golden Slipper hopes in the race are the undefeated Snitzel colt Sandbar ($7.50) chasing a third win from as many starts after success in the Listed Lonhro Plate (1100m) on February 10 and the Gerald Ryan-trained Victory Vein winner Legend Of Condor ($8) out to improve on the first-up Pierro Plate fourth.

The Skyline Stakes field is made complete by Chris Waller’s Zoustar colt Zousain ($11) to be ridden by Winx jockey Hugh Bowman and the rails-drawn Lonhro Plate third placegetter Oxford Tycoon ($14).

Check out the full Skyline Stakes 2018 field and betting markets below, prices now available at Ladbrokes.com.au.