Red Resistance has stamped himself as a genuine Golden Slipper contender while King’s Gambit and Shinzo lost no admirers in a competitive Canonbury Stakes that was low on numbers but high in quality.
Red Resistance ($6) kept his undefeated record intact, controlling the five-horse race from the front under Brett Prebble and kicking strongly to score by 1-1/4 lengths, his time of 1:03.60 for the 1100-metres bettering the class record set by 2022 Golden Slipper runner-up Best Of Bordeaux 12 months ago.
King’s Gambit ($1.28 fav) ran boldly to grab second at his first start since the spring, with debutant Shinzo ($11) equally game, another half-length away.
“He is one of our better colts and like you’ve seen today, he keeps improving,” co-trainer Adrian Bott said.
“That’s the exciting part, to see what he’s got left now.
“I still feel there’s a bit more improvement, a bit more depth there and scope to keep on improving and potentially even get over further in time.
“For now, he is sharp enough and we will have him right on the Slipper path.”
Red Resistance could have just one more run in the Todman Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on March 4, two weeks before the Golden Slipper.
Bott and training partner Gai Waterhouse won their first Slipper together three years ago with Farnan, that colt also heading to the feature via the Todman Stakes, and while Red Resistance is a physically bigger horse with scope to get over further as he matures, Bott can draw some parallels.
“They both possess that natural, early speed and I think that is one of the keys you can take from it,” he said.
“They’ve got similarities in that sense.”
Red Resistance has firmed from $26 into $8 for the 2023 Golden Slipper while King’s Gambit remains the nominal favourite, despite easing slightly to $5.
Peter Snowden was content with the latter’s return, particularly given the winner had the advantage of race fitness.
“The only disappointment was, he didn’t win,” Snowden said.
“If he was beaten four or five lengths I would be concerned. But he was beaten a length-and-a-quarter by a colt that had had a run.”
Snowden will talk to King’s Gambit’s owners before deciding whether the youngster stays in Sydney or heads to Melbourne for the Blue Diamond Stakes.