Gai's over the moon about her chances

WHAT a marvellous day's racing we have today. It can be one thing to program the great races, another to actually attract the best runners.

WHAT a marvellous day's racing we have today. It can be one thing to program the great races, another to actually attract the best runners.

And the ATC have done that.

One blessing from that dreadful equine influenza was abandoning the "vicissitudes of the moon", which determines Easter (it ranges anywhere over a six-week period) in favour of a set program that maximises appeal, especially for interstate horses.

Let's hope this leap forward is allowed to stay. This way works.

My runners

I'M delighted to have such a strong hand today. The stable has the favourite in three Group 1 races - Overreach, Pierro and More Joyous.

Every form student will, quite rightly, have owner-breeder George Altomonte's marvellous two-year-old filly Overreach well clear in his/her Golden Slipper calculations.

And she has drawn the coveted barrier one.

We've had two inches (50mm) of rain at Rosehill and I fear the track will be slow. I think Overreach will win but I concede a wet surface complicates things. For a start, barrier one ceases to be a luxury - inside of the 1200m chute can be a shade inferior if wet. I don't know if she'll handle "soft".

But she has the best chance.

I am a bit "sweet" on Sweet Idea.

She is effective on any going but is proven on soft. If today is slow, she'll be the one the punters come for because, uniquely in this race, she has the "wet" record.

Sweet Idea is built like a colt and has great mental toughness. The Slipper is a high-pressure race and that mental strength is a valuable commodity.

I must also say that the Star Thoroughbreds colt Whittington is a worthy contender.

What a credit to Denise Martin to have a Slipper runner each year.

Pierro

PIERRO is the favourite for The Daily Telegraph George Ryder Stakes and will dominate the betting. And so he should: he was champion two-year-old and has made the full weight-for-age improvement.

Most Golden Slipper winners are precocious horses that don't progress to be top three-year-olds.

But I always told owner Greg Kolivos that Pierro would be best as a three-year-old and he proved that in beating More Joyous in the Group One Canterbury two weeks ago.

He will again prove today he is Australia's top sophomore.

More Joyous

SINGO'S mare More Joyous will be a worthy odds-on chance in the Group One Queen of the Turf. What a perennial star she is.

Under the set weight conditions, only bad luck will beat her.

She is too good.