Image: Steve Hart
Red Resistance held off his rivals to take a stunning victory in the Canonbury Stakes
Red Resistance stamped himself as a genuine contender for the Golden Slipper, while King’s Gambit and Shinzo lost no fans in a competitive Canonbury Stakes that was low in numbers but high in quality.
Red Resistance ($6) retained his undefeated record, controlled the five-horse race from the front under Brett Preble and kicked on strongly to score by 1-1/4 lengths, his 1st for 1100 meters : 03.60 was the time to improve the class. Record set by 2022 Golden Slipper runner-up Best of Bordeaux 12 months ago.
King’s Gambit ($1.28 favourite) ran on boldly to take second place on his first start since the spring, playing evenly with debutant Shinzo ($11), another half a length away.
“He is one of our better colts and as you have seen today, he keeps on improving,” said co-trainer Adrian Bott.
“That’s the exciting part, to see what’s left of him now.
“I still think there’s a little more improvement, a little more depth and there’s room to continue to improve and potentially go even further over time.
“For now, he’s pretty sharp and we’ll keep him on a straight slipper path.”
Red Resistance could muster just one more run in the Todman Stakes (1200 metres) at Randwick on 4 March, two weeks before Golden Slipper.
Bottle and training partner Guy Waterhouse won his first Slipper when teamed with Farnan three years ago, the colt also progressing to feature through the Todman Stakes, and while Red Resistance is a physically large horse, he has been Continuing with, Bottle Can draw some parallels.
“They both have that natural, early pace and I think that’s one of the keys you can take from this,” he added.
“They’ve got similarities in that sense.”
Red resistance for the 2023 Golden Slipper has moved from $26 to $8, while King’s Gambit remains the slight favourite, albeit slightly lower, to $5.
Peter Snowden was satisfied with the latter’s return, particularly given that the winner had the race fitness advantage.
Snowden said, “The only disappointment was that he didn’t win.”
“I would be worried if he was hit four or five times. But he was beaten a length and a quarter by a colt who scored a run.
Snowden will speak to King’s Gambit’s owners before deciding whether the youngster stays in Sydney or travels to Melbourne for the Blue Diamond Stakes.
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