Chris Waller colt Wodeton will be valued at $50m if he can win the Golden Slipper
Wodeton, the most expensive yearling in the Golden Slipper field, will becomes the most valuable thoroughbred in training if he wins on Saturday – and trainer Chris Waller is well aware of that.
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The Golden Slipper’s famous multiplier effect means Wodeton’s worth will rocket to more than $50m if he can win the big race at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
In a field loaded with the best-bred two-year-olds in training, Wodeton was the most expensive yearling purchase when knocked down to Coolmore for $1.6m at the Magic Millions Gold Coast sale last year.
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Wodeton is by sire sensation Wootton Bassett and on his dam’s side is a direct descendant of Hong Kong’s champion sprinter Silent Witness.
The Chris Waller-trained Wodeton has the confirmation to match his pedigree so if he can turn all this into racetrack performance and win the $5m Golden Slipper, then the colt becomes the most valuable thoroughbred in training.
The Golden Slipper is recognised as the Australian racing and breeding industry’s most influential race and for a Slipper-winning colt it also comes with the guarantee of a hefty price tag and commercial stallion career.
Waller spoke of the Golden Slipper’s multiplier effect after watching Wodeton gallop wide out on the course proper at Rosehill Gardens on Thursday morning.
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“It (Golden Slipper) probably puts $200m into the bloodstock economy,’’ Waller said.
“So, you’re talking the winner if it’s a colt (between) $30 to $60m.
“His brothers and sisters are also worth a lot more money, his mother is worth a lot more money and (so are) her relations.
“How do you quantify a Golden Slipper? Well, it probably puts a billion dollars into the horse economy over the space of three months leading into the race.
“It’s talked about for such a long period of time, the pattern changes every week with every lead up race, it’s an iconic race in Australia and it’s part of the history of our breeding industry.’’
Waller, who is chasing a second Golden Slipper win after the Coolmore-owned Shinzo’s success two years ago, said Wodeton is primed for Saturday’s big race.
“The preparation is exactly what we set out to do, three runs before the Golden Slipper,’’ Waller said.
“Ideally he would have won his last start, it wasn’t quite the case, but the reason for the three runs is to learn as much as you can and prepare the horse for the grand final which is the TAB Golden Slipper.
“I’m happy with the prep, confidence levels are therefore high from a preparation perspective. We know how good he is, we’ve just got to get him to do it in the grand final.’’
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Waller believes the addition of winkers will help to keep Wodeton “focused” and could be the gear change that delivers the Golden Slipper.
“Obviously, it’s a sprint race but we still feel he has more to offer by being held up and ensuring he has that lethal finish over the last 200 or 300m,’’ Waller said.
“On the training tracks he’s very sharp, exciting, we just need to replicate that on race day and the grand final is when it needs to happen.’’
It was noticeable Wodeton didn’t work with the winkers on during his course-proper track gallop on Thursday morning but that was a deliberate ploy by the trainer.
“We purposely left them off this morning, we want to put them on race day so he can have the full effect of them,’’ Waller said.
“We didn’t want to light him right up today, two days out from the grand final. If we had put them on we would have seen fireworks.’’
Wodeton has retained Golden Slipper favouritism at $4.80 after drawing perfectly in barrier two.
His main rival, according to the price assessors, is the Godolphin filly Tempted at $5 after drawing inside Waller’s colt.
“The only concern of barrier two is getting out – if you’ve got enough speed you’ll get out,’’ Waller said.
“I think he’s got enough speed. Barrier two means you conserve energy, barrier two means you’re in your comfort zone.
“From wider barriers, you have to do a lot of work and cover extra ground so there’s certainly a lot of positives about barrier two.’’
Originally published as Chris Waller colt Wodeton will be valued at $50m if he can win the Golden Slipper
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