As an impressionable teenager, Scott Darby learned about the art of training two-year-olds from one of the masters. Now one of Australia’s most successful syndicators, Darby is as passionate as ever about the Golden Slipper.
Between TJ Smith’s reign and his daughter Gai Waterhouse leaving a lasting imprint on the race, the Golden Slipper became the domain of two trainers.
It was the 1990s and Lee Freedman and Clarry Conners made Sydney’s signature race their own.
Conners trained Tierce (1991) and Burst (1992) before Freedman and his brothers provided four successive winners, starting with Bint Marscay in 1993 and ending with Merlene’s victory in 1996.
As the Freedmans expanded their business to become an early blueprint for the mega-operations that now dominate the Australian racing eco-system, the Conners’ stable, more blue-collar than corporation, returned fire.
Conners closed out the decade with Prowl’s win in 1998 and he welcomed a new millennium with Belle Du Jour’s astonishing victory in 2000.
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