It's the race everyone wants to win, but what does history say about the lead-up campaign of the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner? 

Three million dollar colts, 10 stakes winners, 11 trainers, and five first season sires. The final field has been assembled, the barriers drawn, the jockeys booked – all that remains is for the gates to fly open for the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes on Saturday. Based on their performances to date, who is most likely to emerge victorious? The Thoroughbred Report examined the last 35 editions of the race and drew comparisons to the 2025 runners.

Since 1990, 17 fillies and 18 colts and geldings have been victorious in the world's richest juvenile race on turf. A number of the lead-up races are split by sex, but some interesting trends do start to emerge when taking a closer look at how Slipper winners have performed in the lead-up.

What is immediately apparent is that the 2-year-olds that hit the track earlier do seem to have the advantage; 77.14 per cent of the Slipper winners have their first race start as pre-Christmas juveniles, and 70.37 per cent of those starters scored a spring win as well, equating to 54.29 per cent of Slipper winners since 1990.

 

North England

One of three runners for Kia Ora Stud's first season sire Farnan, North England's status as a pre-Christmas winner (of the $1 million Golden Gift) boosts his chances, but there is no precedent set by his victory; since the race's establishment in 2019, four of the five winners have run in the Slipper, but no one has finished further forward than Dame Giselle's (I Am Invincible) seventh in 2020. He also enters the Slipper as one of six horses to not win a stakes race prior to running – a tough act to turn into a Slipper win, only achieved by two horses in the last 35 years in Calaway Gal (Clang) in 2002 and Stay Inside in 2021.

North England | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Purchase: Inglis Classic Yearling Sale (Valiant Stud) – $280,000 – China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock, Go Bloodstock, and Trilogy

Trainer: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott

Pedigree: The son of metropolitan winner Our Belisa (Lope De Vega ), he is connected through his fourth dam to Listed Chautauqua Stakes winner A Little Deep (Deep Field).

 

King Of Pop

King Of Pop (Farnan) comes into the Slipper off of victory in the G3 Black Opal Stakes, but it isn't a traditional lead-up race. Only one out of the 35 has run in Canberra's premier juvenile event, although he did win; Catbird scored his first piece of black-type in the event, and his fourth win in a row, with three weeks between runs going into his Slipper victory.

King Of Pop | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography

Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (North) – $800,000 – Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou

Trainer: Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou

Pedigree: He is the second foal from stakes-placed Za Zi Ba (All Too Hard), a half-sister to G1 Epsom Handicap victor Rediener (Redoute's Choice) out of Snitzel's Listed Gimcrack Stakes-placed half-sister Wiener (More Than Ready ).

 

Farcited

Farcited is the most expensive of the Farnan sons in the Slipper. He won the $50,500 Black Opal Preview, but was beaten in the Black Opal by paternal brethren King Of Pop. As one of the six runners without a stakes race to his name, he has a big precedent to overcome if he wants to earn his first Group 1 win.

Farcited | Image courtesy of KJD Media

Purchase: Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale (Bell River Thoroughbreds) – $1.2 million – Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Kia Ora Stud, the Farnan Partnership, and Mt Hallowell Stud

Trainer: Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott

Pedigree: He is the second foal from G1 The Galaxy winner I Am Excited (Snitzel), who has nine stakes wins between her and her versatile half-sister Flippant (Hinchinbrook).

Article excerpted from TTR Aus & NZ, written by Kit Gow.