Racing: Track firms for big Slipper day

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Lindsay Murphy is an extremely talented track manager.

You can only imagine the smile the cheerful curator beamed as he told you yesterday the Rosehill track had the possibility of offering near enough to perfect conditions for Golden Slipper day today.

That's a completely different story to the one pretty much everyone was coming up with on Thursday.

Rosehill was strongly tipped at that point - by Murphy as well - to be rain-affected for Sydney's biggest raceday.

"We haven't had the showers we thought we were going to get, so at the moment the footing is officially a dead 5," said Murphy.

"Chances are we'll declare it a dead 5 in the morning and whether it is upgraded to a dead 4 or not will depend on whether we get the shower or two that they've said are a possibility."

Which still leaves the A$3.5 million ($4.75 million) Golden Slipper slightly up in the air given that favourite Sepoy is looking for firm conditions and the connections of his victor last start, Smart Missile, are hoping for cut in the track which will upset the favourite.

And cut at all might adversely affect Sepoy, particularly given the reported sensational final gallop by Smart Missile on Tuesday morning.

The chances of the New Zealand pair Wall Street and Mufhasa run directly parallel to the Golden Slipper scenario in the A$400,000 George Ryder Stakes.

In their case the way the track conditions dictate the racing pattern on the day will be the critical issue.

If the footing is cutting out it will almost certainly count against on-pace runners like Mufhasa and be an advantage to the horses getting home strongly, like Wall Street prefers to do.

It has been significant on the first two major days of the Rosehill carnival that the rail has not been the favoured part of the track and that will continue today, particularly if the showers eventuate.

That makes it much more difficult for the types like Mufhasa to fight off horses either side in the closing stages when they are in the centre of the track.

Michael Rodd will have his first ride on Mufhasa and Craig Williams, similarly, will get his first feel of Wall Street.

Given a fair crack, both horses are capable of testing the Australian opposition.

The real Maluckyday is likely to come to Rosehill today for the A$2.2 million BMW.

Rider Jim Cassidy blamed the wet track when Maluckyday failed to emerge from the pack in the Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill last start, but the way the track looks like shaping today there will be no excuses. The clash between Maluckyday and Descarado looks like being a beaut.