Australia: Stay Inside rebounds with Golden Slipper triumph

Stay Inside rebounded from his first career loss earlier this month to win the rescheduled Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday.

Stay Inside ($9.40 in American pools) closed from fourth in a field of 15 in the six-furlong Golden Slipper to take the lead in the final furlong, winning by 1 3/4 lengths over 12-1 Anamoe. Stay Inside was ridden by Tommy Berry for trainers Richard and Michael Freedman.

A colt by Extreme Choice, Stay Inside was fourth behind Anamoe in the Grade 2 Todman Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse on March 6, his only loss in four starts.

Anamoe finished 2 1/4 lengths clear of 19-1 Ingratiating in the Golden Slipper. Profiteer, the 8-5 favorite who was second in the Todman, finished seventh, beaten slightly less than six lengths, after setting the early pace.

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The $2.65 million Golden Slipper was postponed a week because of excessive rain in the Sydney area earlier this month and was one of five Group 1 races on the Rosehill Gardens program.

Verry Elleegant ($5.90) won the eighth Group 1 race of her career in the $530,250 Ranvet Stakes at 1 1/4 miles, edging the English invader Addeybb by a length in a field of nine. Addeybb and Verry Elleegant were first and second in the 2020 Ranvet Stakes.

In Saturday’s race, Verry Elleegant closed from third in a field of nine under jockey James McDonald to catch stretch leader Addeybb, who had not started since a win in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in England last October.

Trained by Chris Waller, Verry Elleegant, a 5-year-old New Zealand-bred by Zed, has won 13 of 28 starts. Addeybb and Verry Ellegant were first and second in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth at 1 1/4 miles at Randwick last April and are scheduled to meet in the same race on April 17.

Berry won his first Group 1 of the day on Mo’unga ($4.30) in the $454,450 Rosehill Guineas for 3-year-olds, needing all of the race distance of 1 1/4 miles to reach the front in the final strides. Mo’unga won by a head over 13-1 Sky Lab. Montefilia (6-1) finished third in the field of 14.

Mo’unga was an unlucky second while racing in traffic in the Group 1 Randwick Guineas at a mile at Randwick on March 6. The win on Saturday gave trainer Annabel Neashem her first Group 1 win seven months after she began training.

Think It Over ($49.50) won his Group 1 debut in the $777,500 George Ryder Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs, his third group-level stakes win.

Ridden by Glen Boss for trainer Kerry Parker, Think It Over closed from 10th in a field of 13 to finish a head in front of 16-1 Dreamforce, who was third behind the mighty Winx in the 2019 George Ryder and won the race in 2020.

The George Ryder Stakes was run under weight-for-age conditions. The day’s leading handicap, the Group 1 Galaxy Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs, was won by topweight Eduardo, who carried 125.6 pounds.

Ridden by Nash Rawiller for trainer Joseph Pride, Eduardo ($11.10) led throughout to win by 3 1/2 lengths over 30-1 Order of Command in a field of 14. Eduardo, a 7-year-old gelding, won his fourth group-level stakes, and first Grade 1, in the $530,250 Galaxy Stakes.