All the seventeen youngsters, including the one emergency, who have been accepted for the 2014 Golden Slipper at Rosehill Gardens May 5, are by sires used in the Hunter Valley, fifteen of them are by Australian products. In contrast, there was only one runner in the first six stagings of the race who was by a ‘colonial’ sire.

In the third renewal of the Slipper, the1959 edition won by Fine and Dandy (Star Kingdom gelding), the one by a local sire was Rum Issue, a New Zealand bred son of one of their greatest racehorses, Mainbrace, who finished sixth.

Mainbrace won 23 of 25 starts and was after his eighteenth straight victory when he broke down and went to stud. Although his son Rum Issue was well beaten in the Slipper, he finished ahead of Noholme, a subsequent national champion and then, in America, a distinguished sire.

A son of Star Kingdom, Noholme was a two years younger brother of Todman, the awesome eight lengths winner as an 8-1 on favourite of the inaugural Slipper in 1957. Both horses were bred and raced by Stanley Wootton and were raised for him on the Baramul Stud, the one in the Widden Valley where Star Kingdom ruled for more than a decade and which is now owned by Gerry Harvey..

The Golden Slipper is a juvenile race which debuted as a signature event for the Sydney Turf Club’s Rosehill Racing centre, inspired by George Ryder, the principal at the time of Australia’s leading stud, Woodlands, one located between Jerrys Plains and Denman in the Hunter Valley. George was on the Turf Club’s committee for many years and had a stint as chairman.

Some sideline narks sneered that Ryder was putting on a race for speedsters by his imported Fair Trial sire Newtown Wonder when the Slipper was established.The eleven runners in the first Slipper included five by Newtown Wonder, one of them runner up Flying Kurana, and three by four years younger Star Kingdom, the sire of Todman and third placed Baramul produced Concert Star.

Wootton made a huge contribution to the inaugural Slipper as besides breeding and racing Todman, he sent both Star Kingdom and Newtown Wonder to Australia.

Star Kingdom supplied the first five Slipper winners,Todman, Skyline, Fine and Dandy, Sky High (brother to Skyline) and the first filly, Magic Night. He had runners in eight of the next nine Slippers, but the best he could do was Star Affair and Citius, second and third 1965 and Star of Heaven, third in 1964.

The 1964 Slipper was a significant milestone in Australian breeding as the winner Eskimo Prince (raised on Baramul for a client) was the superstar in the first crop of Todman (retired to Baramul) and Star of Heaven, not only became a good sire in his own right, but his four years younger brother Biscay became the most influential Star Kingdom sire.

Fourth at 9-10 in the1968 Slipper, Biscay was one of numerous Slipper favourites to fall by the wayside in the lottery of the race. Others have included Special Girl (4-5), Imagele (4-9), Zeditave (13-8), Bold Promise (9-10), Clan O’Sullivan (1-1) and General Nediym (15-8).

Before Todman went to work as a sire at Baramul, some consideration is believed to have been given to selling him to America as leading Australian studs at the time did not favour ‘colonials’ as sires. It would have been a tragedy if he had been shipped out as he made a big contribution to the Slipper and Australian breeding generally.

One tragedy was that his son Eskimo Prince, a colt, was sent to America and disappeared into obscurity. He was one of the best and most striking looking Slipper winners. Racing today, he would surely been a $20million plus sire prize.

Todman was the first of an impressive line up of Slipper winners to become a first class sires, the others including Pago Pago, Vain, Baguette, Marscay, Luskin Star, Rory’s Jester, Marauding, Star Watch, Canny Lad and Flying Spur. Winner of the1963 Slipper, Pago Pago was the first winner of the race by an Australian bred sire, Matrice.

Baramul Stud’s historic neighbour, the Widden Stud, has enjoyed much success through standing Slipper winners. Last century they hosted Todman after Baramul retired from standing sires, also champion Australian sires Vain and Marscay and currently have two more recent Slipper winners in the stallion yards.

Both advertisements maternally for the transmission of excellence by Slipper winners, they are Stratum (won 2005), a son of Redoute’s Choice and from a mare bred on the Luskin Star – Vain cross, and Sebring (2008), a More Than Ready product of Purespeed, a daughter of Flying Spur and another Luskin Star mare.

A consistent source of winners, Stratum was Australia’s Champion Juvenile Sire 2009-10 and Sebring, oldest progeny three, is shaping up as another distinguished Widden sire. He is the only Slipper winner with representatives, two, among the acceptors for this year’s race.

Fourteen of the acceptors have Danehill, eight doses on the top line, somewhere in the pedigree. Exceed and Excel (by Danehill) and Snitzel (grandson through Redoute’s Choice) sired two each and the dam of one each.The full list of acceptors with their breeding follows.

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SEBRING (More Than Ready (USA) from Purespeed, by Flying Spur from Lady Moulin, by Luskin Star), another emerging top sire at the Widden Stud with his oldest three. He is the only Golden Slipper winner with acceptors (two) for the 2014 renewal of the race

THE 2014 GOLDEN SLIPPER ACCEPTORS

$3,500,000, 2yos, Rosehill Gardens (1200m) May 5

Horse, barrier, trainer, breeding, breeder

UNENCUMBERED (14) (Bjorn Baker), b/br c Testa Rossa – Blizzardly, by More Than Ready (USA), Newhaven Park Stud, Boorowa, NSW

JABALI (1) (Mick Price), b c Exceed And Excel – Balalaika, by King of Kings (Ire), A. Calvert, Vic.

GHIBELLINES (2) (Peter Snowden), b c Shamardal (USA) – Camarilla, by Elusive Quality (USA), Darley Stud, Hunter Valley NSW.

VALENTIA (4) (Gai Waterhouse), b c Fastnet Rock – Smart Company, by Mister C (USA), F. Peisah (Lomar Park) Werombi NSW.

CORNROW (8) (Mick Price), b/br c Duporth – Baby Corn, by Exceed And Excel, Kitchwin Hills Stud, Whitby Bloodstock, Hunter Valley NSW.

LAW (7), Gai Waterhouse), br c Denman – Lady Cat (Chi), by Sir Cat, Freer Pty Ltd Andrew Bowcock, Lasca Bowcock, Hunter Valley NSW.

MODOC (3), (Paul Perry), b g Haradasun – Circus Polka, by Stravinsky (USA), A. Sangster (Swettenham Stud), Nagambie Vic.

RISEN FROM DOUBT (6), (Troy McEvoy), b c Not A Single Doubt – Coconut Mamma, by Fantastic Light (USA), D.R. Fleming, Hawkesbury NSW.

EARTHQUAKE (13), (Peter Snowden), b f Exceed And Excel – Cataclysm, by Marauding, Darley Hunter Valley NSW.

MOSSFUN (11), (Team Hawkes), b f Mossman – Eye For Fun, by Snitzel, Dr I. Duckworth, Heather McKinnon, Darren Pullman, Linda Duckworth NSW.

OAKLEIGH GIRL (10), (Danny Bougure), b f Snitzel – Miss Kournikova, by Mr. Greeley (USA), Arrowfield Pastoral, Planette Thoroughbred, Hunter Valley NSW.

ELOPING (15), (Peter Morgan, Craig Widdison), ch f Choisir – Runaway Jesse, by Rory’s Jester, Saconi Thoroughbreds Vic.

ALPHA MISS (9), (Gary Nickson), Lucky Owners – Soiree Girl, by Rory’s Jester, K.F. Leung, V. Leung Man Him, NSW.

BRING ME THE MAID (5), (Peter Moody), ch f Sebring – Maid For Me, by Belong to Me (USA), M.J. & S.C. Murdoch, Qld.

MEMORIAL (17), (Peter Snowden), ch f Street Cry (USA) – Mnemosyne, by Encosta de Lago, Darley, Hunter Valley NSW.

BELIEVE YOURSELF (16), (Gerald Ryan), ch f Sebring – Private, by Encosta de Lago, Ramsey Pastoral (Turangga Stud), Hunter Valley NSW.

SCRATCH ME LUCKY (Emerg;12), (Paul Perry), ch c Snitzel – Radiant Star, by Success Express (USA), Ramsey Pastoral (Turangga Stud, Hunter Valley NSW.