Gai Waterhouse is in the enviable position of having two jockeys believing they could be riding the potential Golden Slipper winner at Rosehill on Saturday, but unbeaten types Vancouver and Giulietta will only run "if they are 100 per cent".
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Waterhouse's main man, Tommy Berry, has chosen Breeders Plate winner Vancouver as his early Slipper pick, and will be on him if he returns in Saturday's Canonbury Stakes. It gives Christian Reith the opportunity to stick with filly Giulietta, who was an impressive winner on debut at the beginning of the month. She is set to run in the Widden Stakes on the weekend
But Waterhouse, a five-time Golden Slipper-winning trainer, has made it clear that commitment runs both ways when it comes to her talented two-year-olds and jockeys.
"I want my jockeys to be part of it all the way and get to the track," Waterhouse said. "I want them at the track in the morning riding these horses.
"It keeps them fit and lets them get to know the horse and the owners. It makes them a part of the process right the way through, which is very important come [Golden] Slipper Day.
"They [Berry and Reith] should be excited, they are both very smart [two-year-olds].
"I have them in the races on Saturday and will make a final decision if they will run [on Wednesday] morning because I want to be completely happy with them if they are to run."
Reith is trying to re-establish himself after a stint in Hong Kong and Giulietta provided his first winner back in Australia, on January 3. Even though it qualified the Snitzel filly for the Magic Millions, Waterhouse chose to save her for the bigger prizes in the autumn and her jockey can see why.
"Giulietta is the sort of horse that you are looking for all the time," Reith said. "I think she can be a force to reckon with in a Golden Slipper and hopefully she can show that again on Saturday.
"She's going to take big improvement from that first run. She's got brilliant gate speed, which keeps her out of trouble, and then she has a real turn of foot."
Vancouver carries a form reference that all of Waterhouse male Slipper winners have had after just one start.
"He is a Breeders Plate winner, like Sebring and Pierro, while Dance Hero ran third in it, so it is a very important race when it comes to the Slipper," Waterhouse pointed out. "He is very laid-back and has shades of Pierro about him."
Vancouver has had the one barrier trial since returning to Tulloch Lodge and there is the option of going to Randwick for another trial on Friday. There are only seven entries for the Canonbury Stakes, which could tempt Waterhouse to start her star colt. If not, he would probably return in the Silver Slipper on February 21.
The Medaglia D'Oro colt did not have in this recent trial the blinkers he wore in his Breeders Plate win, where he only beat one home, but they have been used in a couple of subsequent gallops.
"He just needs them [the blinkers] to really switch on," Berry said. "He is just a laid-back customer.
"His work on Monday morning was very sharp. If he goes around on Saturday, I think he will just win, but he will only be there if he is 100 per cent.
"He has been the one that has really stood out to me at home and I have told Gai he is one for me [in the Slipper]. He just does everything, so easy and nothing seems to worry him."
Meanwhile, the funeral of respected racing man Bob Rowles will be held at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Randwick at 9.30am next Monday. Rowles, who worked as the jockeys attendant for more than 60 years, died aged 98 on Sunday night.
