Chris Waller has fired the opening shot in the Golden Slipper build-up with a dominant debut victory from blue-blooded colt Hidrix at Rosehill.
Hidrix proved too strong on debut, while race favourite Incognito failed to fire and finished fifth after encountering issues in the run.
Incognito had been equal favourite for the world’s richest two-year-old race but jockey Tommy Berry reported the colt appeared to have a problem after the race.
“He made a gargling noise pulling up, so he’s obviously flicked his palate,” Berry said.
“The team at home can work out how they fix that.”
Bookmakers reacted swiftly, pushing Incognito out to $26 for the Golden Slipper (1200m) while Hidrix was installed as equal favourite at $8 alongside Bjorn Baker’s Warwoven.
Waller trained the quinella with Confederation ($3.40) finishing 1-3/4 lengths behind Hidrix ($13), while Eviction Notice ($4.80) stuck on gamely for third.
The winner is a full brother to star filly Apocalyptic and cost $1.7 million as a yearling.
While Waller admitted the colt’s colour initially gave him pause, everything else about the youngster impressed.
“He was out of the Coolmore draft and by Extreme Choice. He ticked all the boxes,” Waller said.
“The only thing we weren’t sure about was the colour, but we’ve got nothing to worry about, have we.
“We have given him two educational trials. We haven’t asked him to do anything. What you saw today is more than what I’ve seen.”
Waller confirmed both Hidrix and Confederation would head toward the Golden Slipper, adding that neither colt has been fully wound up.
“The beauty of our horses is you know they’re still on the up. They will have a ceiling as well, but hopefully we don’t find that ceiling until Slipper day,” he said.
Winning rider Zac Lloyd said the colt’s professionalism stood out.
“He’s just bombproof. He does everything right,” Lloyd said.
“He was extremely push-button.”
Freedman later confirmed Incognito would be scoped after the race but remained hopeful the issue could be corrected in time for another lead-up run.
With Golden Slipper markets already shifting, punters can track developments through leading Australian betting sites.
The post Hidrix equal Golden Slipper favourite after a dominant debut first appeared on Just Horse Racing.