‘Thought we would just win’: Trainer Clinton McDonald confident with Hayasugi in Golden Slipper
Much of the talk ahead of this year’s Golden Slipper has been about the Sydney’s star colts but Clinton McDonald expects his Blue Diamond-winning filly to match them.
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It takes a special horse to win the Blue Diamond-Golden Slipper double and trainer Clinton McDonald is confident brilliant filly Hayasugi fits the mould.
Much of the talk ahead of this year’s $5m two-year-old feature at Rosehill Gardens has been about the Sydney’s star colts but McDonald expects his daughter of gun daughter of Royal Meeting to match them.
Hayasugi is vying to become just the sixth two-year-old to complete the Blue Diamond-Golden Slipper double and the first since Sepoy in 2011.
Only two fillies have done it and the last of those was trained by McDonald’s late father Ross with brilliant filly Courtza in 1989.
More than three decades on and McDonald believes Hayasugi can replicate the effort - even if she has to do it from barrier 16.
“The only thing is, they are lucky we drew barrier 16 because I thought we would just win the race if she drew a gate,” McDonald said.
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“At the end of the day, I know how good my filly is and what she can do.
“She is one of those freakish kind of fillies. Everything she does, she does with ease.”
Hayasugi has won all three of her starts this preparation throughout the Blue Diamond series, culminating with her brilliant effort from back in the field to gun down Lady Of Camelot in the first two-year-old Group 1 of the season at Caulfield last month.
McDonald is confident we haven’t seen the best of her yet as she attempts to add her name to the history books.
“She is getting better and better and has improved again from the Blue Diamond,” McDonald said. “It will be in the lap of the gods from the draw because we can’t do anything more with her now.”
It’s been a super season for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s two-year-olds and McDonald believes they could hold the key to helping Hayasugi manage her wide draw.
Waterhouse and Bott have unbeaten Magic Millions winner Storm Boy ($2.30) as the benchmark while they also saddle smart colts Fully Lit ($26), Shangri La Express ($41), Straight Charge and Prost ($41).
“We have a bit of a game plan and know Gai and Adrian have the race by the scruff of the neck with six horses which are all sort of good forward type of horses,” McDonald said.
“Our filly jumped first in the Blue Diamond so she is quite quick out of the gates.
“People forget that she was up there over 1000m on Cox Plate day so she does actually have that speed that we want to use.
“How hard are they going to go? That will be the thing.”
“I watched the run of Vancouver in the Golden Slipper when he won and think you have to be positive.”
Hayasugi will come to Sydney for the first time on raceday after McDonald made the decision to stable his star filly just south of the city at Ciaron Maher’s Bong Bong property.
The Group 1 filly handled her maiden interstate road trip with aplomb.
“You wouldn’t even know she was on the float,” McDonald said.
“She is one of those fillies that just copes with everything and handles the pressure.
“It’s a fantastic set up down at Bong Bong that’s great for horses. It’s really unbelievable and it’s beautifully relaxed.
“She has everything she needs and it’s been a relaxed environment.”
It will be the lowest representation for fillies in more than 50 years with just four lining up against the colts this year.
Three of them come through the Blue Diamond with runner up Lady Of Camelot ($7.50) returning to Sydney to help make up Waterhouse and Bott’s massive Slipper team.
Blue Diamond four placegetter Eneeza ($34) will also been given her chance for training partnership Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.
Strong last start Group 2 Sweet Embrace Stakes victor Manaal ($26) will also line up for Golden Slipper winning trainer Michael Freedman, who won the race in 2021 with Stay Inside while in partnership with his brother Richard.
Manaal will be the only horse to jump from outside Hayasugi after she was also handed a testing wide draw for the world’s richest two-year-old event.
Originally published as ‘Thought we would just win’: Trainer Clinton McDonald confident with Hayasugi in Golden Slipper
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