Gai Waterhouse says the battle between her filly Overreach and Villa Verde on Saturday will be as good as the match-up between her stable stars More Joyous and Pierro.
And Tommy Berry, who'll ride the reigning Golden Slipper favourite Overreach in the Reisling Stakes (1200 metres), is confident his mount will come out on top.
The contest between the top two in Slipper betting in the group 2 Reisling (renamed Moet & Chandon) promises to be one of the highlights on a Rosehill program that features three group 1 races.
Among those is the Canterbury Stakes featuring the first meeting between More Joyous and Pierro.
Waterhouse said Overreach looked well going into the race but noted she had seen the Shaun Dwyer-trained Villa Verde as well and was impressed.
''That will be as good a tussle as More Joyous and Pierro,'' she said.
Villa Verde arrived in Sydney last weekend to prepare for her return, having won her only two starts in the spring in Melbourne in impressive fashion. She defeated Overreach on debut in the Debutants Stakes but that filly resumed with a commanding Widden Stakes win to assume Slipper favouritism.
''She stamped herself as a Slipper favourite and I think she's the winner on Saturday,'' Berry said. ''I think it will be very hard for Villa Verde [to beat Overreach] over 1200 metres first-up.'' Overreach won the Widden by 5¾ lengths.
Berry said the ''explosive'' turn of foot she showed that day was the best any horse had produced for him. ''Except for More Joyous in a barrier trial. She's another level,'' he was quick to add.
Overreach is the $3.80 Slipper favourite ahead of Villa Verde at $7.
Meanwhile, Secret Garden might be cranky and a creature of habit, but that's what makes her such a fierce competitor, says the man who knows her best.
Understanding Secret Garden's habits and working with, rather than against, the mare has enabled Paul Nolan jnr to get the best out of her.
''She likes a set routine like having a pick of grass out in the backyard every afternoon or else she sulks,'' Nolan said. ''But when she can gallop like she can, she's not hard to put up with.''
The mare's competitive nature kicks in as soon as she enters the mounting enclosure.
''She can't walk in formation with the other runners because if she spots another horse in front of her she just wants to get past them and will try to charge over the top of them,'' her trainer said. ''It's a great characteristic to have in a mare and as a consequence you get a very honest racehorse, but we have to be careful how we deal with her.''
He is mindful of Secret Garden's task as she strives for a hat-trick of wins in Saturday's James Brockhurst Handicap (2200m) at Doomben. ''The combination of the 58 kilos and an awkward alley [eight] makes it a bit tricky for her and, as we know, weight will stop a train,'' he said.
''Volkhere is the one I'm worried about because she only just beat him when he was jumping from 1400 metres to 2000 metres and we have to give him four kilos this time compared to 1½ kilos last time.''
Nolan says the Ipswich and Caloundra cups during the latter stages of the winter carnival are options for Secret Garden if her form warrants it. The Toowoomba Cup is a long-term goal, too, but Nolan wants to wait until next year to chase a home-town victory when the Clifford Park track reverts to turf from a cushion racing surface.
AAP
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