Early favourite in Golden Slipper betting for Saturday week’s classic, Sunlight is the filly to beat in the Magic Night Stakes 2018 field and odds for this weekend at Rosehill Gardens.
Golden Slipper favourite Sunlight is odds-on in Magic Night Stakes 2018 betting for her final lead-up at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Photo: Steve Hart.
The final lead-ups to the iconic Group 1 $3.5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) take place on Coolmore Classic Day including a bumper field of 13 fillies facing off in the Group 3 $175,000 Magic Night Stakes (1200m).
Won last year by Tulip (2017) who went on to finish third next-up in the Golden Slipper Stakes trifecta, this autumn’s Magic Night Stakes field is set to run as Rosehill Race 3 at 1:30pm (AEDT) on Saturday.
Red hot favourite at an odds-on quote of $1.45 in the Magic Night Stakes betting markets is Sunlight chasing her fifth win on the trot ahead of the world’s richest race for two-year-olds on March 24 back at the track.
Prepared by Tony McEvoy, the flying daughter of Zoustar has only lost once over her five start career and has amassed over $1.76 million in prize money thanks mainly to her Magic Millions 2YO Classic win at the Gold Coast in mid-January.
She returned on February 24 having her first Sydney start to salute in the Group 2 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) with a gutsy on-pace performance and now chases back-to-back Rosehill wins.
Sunlight’s ultra-consistent form also has her top of the all-in Golden Slipper betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au at $4, a price set to firm further should she win again this weekend.
With Sunlight such a dominant and deserving favourite there are no other single-figure hopes in the Magic Night Stakes odds.
Should Sunlight not turn it on that opens it right up and according to the markets the most notable danger is the early firmer Cristobal ($15 into $13) with the rails run from barrier one.
Prepared by James Cummings for the powerhouse Godolphin stable, the lightly-raced daughter of Exceed and Excel has had just the one start to date for an 1100m Rosehill win on debut on February 28.
Still the early money is coming for the untapped bay in the royal blue who Tye Angland rides.
Equal at $13 to score the upset are Setsuna and Sweet Ava drawn in barriers 11 and five respectively.
Choisir filly Setsuna is from a stable that must be respected, co-trainer Gai Waterhouse boasting a record six wins in the Golden Slipper Stakes over the years.
Currently Setsuna is only rated a $41 roughie to make it seven after her first-up fourth in the Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes (1200m).
A back-to-back winner in Melbourne over the spring including a Group 3 sprint at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day, Setsuna was only one and a half-lengths beaten in her resuming run and gets the chance to finish closer here stripping fitter.
Sweet Ava is prepared by Gerald Ryan and is also a Sweet Embrace Stakes graduate having run fifth, jockey Brenton Avdulla retaining the ride second-up on Saturday.
Other notable fillies in the mix include Waterhouse & Bott’s other runner Terminology ($26) coming off a third to Cristobal and the John Thompson-trained Sweet Embrace third placed Foxwedge filly Into The Abyss ($14).
Check out the full Magic Night Stakes 2018 field and odds below courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au who are also offering the best early Golden Slipper markets this autumn.
