Golden Slipper form - 3 things before you bet

Picking a winner in the 2017 Golden Slipper isn't the easiest task facing Australian punters this year. Sixteen two-year-old thoroughbreds racing with no more than five starts under their belt over the Rosehill 1200m course. A course that only half of the field have seen thus far in their short careers.

With these challenges and the heavy conditions in mind, we've outlined three key factors that punters should consider when doing the Slipper form for Saturday's big race.

Heavy track - where are the favours?

If you're going to punt on Saturday's Slipper you have to be watching some, if not all of the six races before they jump to get an idea on how the track is racing. For those that can't make it to a screen you might want to consider how the track played on 18 February, 2017 - the last time they raced on a wet Rosehill track with the rail out 3 metres. That day the track was a Soft 5 to 6, and the best going was wide with seven of the nine winners finishing either in the middle of the track or wider on the post.

 

Speed maps and barriers

Speed maps and barriers are vital in the Golden Slipper. Faced with an acute turn just 300m from the barriers, outside contenders need to either show strong early speed to get a forward position closer to the rails, or find some cover wider on the track. Tommy Berry proved that wide barriers don't always end your Slipper chances when he steered Vancouver to victory in the great race two years ago. There probably isn't a contender with Vancouver's acceleration and talent in this year's field but wide runners may find themselves in the right part of the home straight if recent wet track bias returns on Saturday.

Wet track form

Wet track ability is another key factor that punters have to consider in the 2017 Golden Slipper. Most of the field have yet to race on a bog track and for those that have there's little history available to conclude on their wet track pontential.

In the absence of relevant form, bloodlines are one of the best alternative guides available to punters. While there are exceptions to the rule, there are a number of sires who have themselves had high strike rates in the wet and have produced offspring who have gone on to do the same.

Here's the list of 2017 Golden Slipper runners with known wet track sires who had good wet track strike rates and have consistently produced mud runners at stud.

	Golden Slipper 2017 Runner	Sire	Noted Stakes Level Wet Track Bloodlines
2.	Veranillo (w)	Medaglia d'Oro	Astern, Vancouver
3.	Trapeze Artist	Snitzel	Hot Snitzel, Sweet Idea
4.	Single Bullet (w)	Not A Single Doubt	Miracles Of Life,
7.	Invader (w)	Snitzel	Hot Snitzel, Sweet Idea
8.	Menari	Snitzel	Hot Snitzel, Sweet Idea
14.	Teaspoon	Snitzel	Hot Snitzel, Sweet Idea
17.	Chauffeur	Snitzel	Hot Snitzel, Sweet Idea
18.	Showtime	Snitzel	Hot Snitzel, Sweet Idea

The likes of Veranillo, Single Bullet and Invader have gone some way to uphold the promise of their sire-lines, having already proven their ability to handle a wet track in their short careers. The other Golden Slipper contenders with wet form include:

• 5. Diamond Tathagata
• 11. Tulip
• 12. She Will Reign
• 13. Frolic
• 15. Houtzen
• 16. Madeenaty

Can't find a winner in the Golden Slipper? Check out the Horse Racing Tip market where professional punters and Australia's racing media's tips and bets are available to follow.

Mike Steward