Shangri La Express (+110) remains undefeated in two starts after storming clear in the $1 million Golden Gift (1100m) on Saturday at Rosehill.
The daughter of Alabama Express has stamped her authority as a genuine early favourite for the 2024 Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m), leading all the way to score in stylish fashion in Saturday’s Golden Gift.
The Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained colt pinged the lids from barrier 12, bounding across the face of the field to secure the early lead.
He was ticking along at a strong tempo throughout the contest and setup for some back markers to come into play late.
The best of those came in the pair of Rue De Royale (+750) and Volatile (+1300) who maintained a strong gallop in behind, but were no match for Shangri La Express, as the two-year-old extended under Regan Bayliss to secure victory.
2023 Golden Gift Replay – Shangri La Express | T: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | J: Regan Bayliss
Co-trainer Adrian Bott was on course at Rosehill to represent the stable and clearly has a high opinion of his colt, suggesting a Magic Million caper may be on the cards prior to the autumn.
“Excellent win,” said Bott.
“He had to do it pretty hard from that wide gate. He’s a natural two-year-old, he shows good early speed and sustained speed. He’s got that great ability to be able to quicken off that.
“He did that first-up and he’s been able to put in an even stronger performance second-up today. All the makings of a top class two-year-old.
“He’s going to Magic Millions but we’ve got big plans for him in the Autumn. We need to see whether there’s enough in the tank to do it all, or whether we just focus on the Slipper.”
Jockey Regan Bayliss was glowing in his post-race assessment of his mount and praised the constitution of his younger horse to overcome a lengthy wait at the barriers due to a farrier adjustment to a key rival.
“He’s a super colt,” said Bayliss
“He’s put the writing on the wall in both of these runs. It’s a very hot day here today – he absolutely melted in the mounting enclosure and again behind the barriers.
“One of them pulled a shoe and he really got hot and bothered. To overcome that, and the wide barrier, was a credit to him.
“I’m convinced we haven’t seen the best of this colt.
“He does everything that you ask of him. He looks like a finished product now but he is not, he’s open to further improvement – we’re going to see a really nice colt in the autumn.”
Shangri La Express is now a clear +800 favourite in futures markets for the Group 1 Golden Slipper (1200m) on March 23, 2024.
More racing news
