She Will Reign could jump from lucky barrier in 2017 Golden Slipper

Brilliant filly She Will Reign could jump from lucky barrier eleven if the final sixteen stays intact and the three emergencies aren’t required in the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on Saturday.

She Will Reign, above, will jump from barrier 11 if all the emergencies fail to gain a start in the Golden Slipper at Rosehill. Photo by Steve Hart.

She Will Reign drew barrier thirteen in the original draw with two of the three emergencies drawing six and twelve and if they fail to gain a start in the Golden Slipper, the Manhattan Rain filly will jump from barrier eleven, trainer Gary Portelli’s lucky number.

“My lucky number is eleven so that is a good start,” Portelli said.

“Poor old Andrew was pretty shattered when he got thirteen but that has worked out good.”

She Will Reign was the winner of her first three starts in a 1000m Kembla Grange Maiden on December 10, in the Restricted Listed $500,000 Inglis Nursery (1000m) at Randwick on December 17 and then in the Group 2 $250,000 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill on February 18 after missing the start.

But the filly’s winning run came to an end on a heavy track when second to Golden Slipper rival Frolic in the Group 2 $300,000 Affinity Shopping Reisling Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on March 4.

Ben Melham has been aboard She Will Reign at her last three starts and gets the ride again on the brilliant filly in the Golden Slipper and while she lost some admirers following her last start defeat, Portelli said that she has come through the run in fine style and continued to impress him on the training tracks.

“She pulled up enormous,” Portelli said.

“I worked her this morning, just gave her an easy gallop over 1000m on the course proper at Warwick Farm.”

“I didn’t ask much of her but she worked with a mate. The last fifty metres I just said to Glen who rides her all her work, just give her a little squeeze to make sure there was something there.”

“She went up into that gear that she goes up into, went straight past it. When she came back to me you would not have known she went out to work.”

“She is in great order going into the race and now that we have seen the weather that has come in I am glad that we raced her two weeks ago because she has got that fitness to fall back on now.”

“She has had a feel of a pretty heavy track and she has also had a go at 1200m.”

Portelli will also saddle Single Bullet who gained a spot in the final Golden Slipper field with a last start win in the Group 3 $175,000 Cafe Culture + Insitu Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill last Saturday.

Single Bullet has draw in close at barrier three and Portelli said that gate will suit the Not A Single Doubt colt.

“Barrier three, you couldn’t ask her anything better. Bullet is going to go back and settle off the pace,” Portelli said.

“By the Slipper we have a bit of an idea how the track is playing as well so we will leave it to our riders.”

Portelli said that Tye Angland had to reassess his pre-race tactics in the Pago Pago Stakes after the Gerald Ryan pair of Condor Heroes, the likely leader, and Albumin were scratched at the barriers and took up a forward position instead of settling midfield.

“He was actually a little slow into stride and he had to ride him along to get outside of the leader. He did a good job to dig in and fight back and win the race,” Portelli said.

She Will Reign has retained her position as the $5 second favourite for the Golden Slipper at Ladbrokes.com.au behind the Queensland filly Houtzen at $4.40 while Single Bullet is rated as one of the outsiders of the field at $26.