Beiwacht stamps himself on the 2025 Golden Slipper

The Silver Slipper Stakes was meant to shed light on the Golden Slipper picture, but James Cummings and Adam Hyeronimus took the opportunity to introduce Beiwacht as a serious contender with a dominant win at Rosehill.

Race favorite Wodeton had a testing run, forced to cover extra ground from barrier nine throughout the 1100m Group 2 race. Despite the tough trip, the $2.20 favorite held on bravely under Kerrin McEvoy, finishing third by a short neck to West Of Swindon ($9.50) in second.

With Bel Merci ($3.20) underperforming and finishing second last, Beiwacht stole the show. The son of Bivouac surged ahead to claim an authoritative 2¾-length victory, marking himself as a genuine Golden Slipper threat ahead of the $5 million feature on March 22 at Rosehill.

Hyeronimus described Beiwacht ($17) as a developing colt, having finished runner-up to Bellazaine at Randwick on February 8.

"He was off the radar on debut, but we kept working on him and stayed patient," Cummings said.

"He’s got incredible natural speed, but we needed to teach him how to channel it properly. That’s what you get from a Bivouac colt out of a Street Cry mare with a track record of producing high-quality runners.

"This was a big result, especially with the Golden Slipper just around the corner."

McEvoy was satisfied with Wodeton’s run despite the challenging circumstances.

"He was really strong," McEvoy said.

"We wanted to ride him quieter with some cover, but that wasn’t possible. He had to do more than we planned but still stuck on well.

"He’ll be primed for the Golden Slipper in a few weeks."

Meanwhile, Zac Lloyd noted that Bel Merci "just wasn’t himself today."

Wodeton remains the $3.50 favorite for the Golden Slipper, with Apocalyptic, trained by Michael Freedman, sitting as the second favorite at $11.

Following his Silver Slipper triumph, Beiwacht’s odds have shortened from $34 to $15 with online betting sites for the 2025 Golden Slipper.