In an era when Australian racing seems to be constantly trying to reinvent itself, statistics confirm that the outcome of Golden Slipper remains unchallenged for importance and influence to our breeding industry.
While the Melbourne Cup has expanded its reach to capture international attention and mega prize money races with a different spin such as The Everest have quickly secured a foothold, the Golden Slipper does more to shape the future of Australian thoroughbred racing.
That in itself comes with some degree of irony, given the Golden Slipper’s introduction to the Australian racing scene almost seven decades ago emanated from a piece of left-field thinking that had its critics.
It was one of the Sydney Turf Club’s founding directors, George Ryder, who came up with the concept of a race for two-year-olds that he thought would add prestige to the Sydney autumn carnival.
Coinciding with the arrival in Australia of the Irish-bred stallion Star Kingdom who sired the first five Golden Slippers, the helter-skelter nature of the contest took off and it hasn’t looked back as a race that consistently fashions bloodlines.
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