By Craig Kerry
A week ago, Michael Freedman thought Marhoona had only a 50-50 chance to even get into the Golden Slipper field.
A few days before that, he thought the Emirates Park-owned Snitzel filly, with less than $85,000 in prizemoney, was no chance.
Marhoona, second from left, holds out Tempted (left) and Wodeton (right) to win the Golden Slipper.Credit: Getty Images
On Saturday, Marhoona – the second last horse into the 16-strong field – won a thrilling finish to the $5 million Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill.
It was the Randwick trainer’s second victory in the richest race for two-year-olds, after winning the 2021 race in partnership with brother, Richard. This was his first as a solo trainer.
“It’s special,” Freedman said, with his voice breaking. “It’s an old cliche, but these moments are exactly why you do it.”
It continues a rich history with the race for the Freedmans. Brothers Michael, Richard, Anthony and Lee won four consecutive Slippers in the 1990s under Lee’s name at a time when partnerships were not allowed.
Trainer Michael Freedman, left, with Marhoona.Credit: Getty Images
Top Victorian jockey Damian Lane gave Marhoona a dream run from a handy draw in barrier six, putting her three back on the fence before making a run at the 300m.
The $8 Sportsbet chance hit the front at the 150m mark then held off late charges from Wodeton ($7) and Tempted ($4.50).
Freedman praised the ride of Lane.
“I thought at the weekend we were a chance of making the race,” Freedman said.
“Sophie [Johnson], my right-hand person, reached out, and Damian said I haven’t been offered much else, so I’m happy to take the punt.”
It was a second win in the Slipper for Lane, who was on Kiamichi in 2019.
“She was great,” Lane said. “She’s obviously been prepped perfectly for this, just peaking on the day. Not often you come up with a plan and execute it perfectly, well in group 1s anyway.
Damian Lane got the job done in the Golden Slipper.Credit: Getty Images
“It really played out how we thought it might and she was great.”
There was drama early in the race when Bjorn Baker-trained filly Within The Law took fright at the back of the field and crashed into the running rail, dislodging Jason Collett and then running down the inside track.
Collett walked back into the jockeys’ room injured.
The victory capped a roller-coaster run to the Slipper for Freedman, who had early contenders Pallaton and Apocalyptic fall short of the race.
“Yeah, huge thrill,” he said.
“You know, we’ve been through the ups and downs with the family over a lot of years with these sort of good results, bad results. But, yeah, it’s a huge thrill for my team. I mean, I’ve got a lot of young, up-and-coming stars in the industry, I think, and they’ve had such a big part to play in this, probably a lot more than me.
‘I thought at the weekend we were a chance of making the race.’
Trainer Michael Freedman on Marhoona’s wild road to the Golden Slipper
“For Sophie, who you know well, and Ben Duckworth, who’s sort of been in the team for about a year now, I’m as happy for them as I am anything else because they just put so much work in.
“If I’m being honest, I said to a few people, earlier today, I thought maybe it would have been nice to have had one more run under our belt, but she’s a special filly.
“When she won at Canterbury at first start, she ripped half a foot off winning that race, and I thought you’re tough. And she bounced back from it, went to the Reisling a month later [and finished second], and it’s a bit of an unusual preparation, I guess, going into a Slipper at your third start. But, yeah, she’s a special filly.”
As for his success with two-year-olds, he said: “I just try and stay out of their way a little bit, I think. I think my personal view is good two-year-olds almost train themselves a little bit. You’ve just got to stay out of the way.”
