Following an impressive late charge in the Golden Slipper, promising two-year-old Rivellino will line up again at the elite level as he targets the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes at Randwick this Saturday.
Prepared by Kris Lees, the colt caught the eye with a strong finish to grab fourth in the Slipper, finishing just under two and a half lengths from winner Marhoona. The step up to 1400m now looms as a key opportunity for Rivellino to claim a Group 1 during his juvenile season.
“I’m mindful he’s had a long preparation but with that said, his runs up until now have been spaced by three weeks or more,” Lees said.
“He’s always given an indication he’d be comfortable at 1400 metres, which he finds (on Saturday) and from what I’ve seen of him at home, I don’t think a wet track will have any negative effect either. So I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
Lees confirmed the colt had come through his latest outing in good shape, and he was especially pleased that champion jockey Hugh Bowman is keen to return from Hong Kong to partner Rivellino again.
“He was adamant he wanted to come back and ride him again, so that will do me,” Lees said.
Rivellino had gone unbeaten in his first three career starts before tackling the Golden Slipper. He made a stylish debut over 1000m at Randwick in January and backed that up with a dominant win in the $2 million Inglis Millennium (1100m) a few weeks later at the same venue.
That performance set him up for victory in the Group 2 Skyline Stakes (1200m), earning him a spot in the prestigious Golden Slipper at Rosehill.
“He ran really well,” Lees said of Rivellino’s Golden Slipper performance.
“I wouldn’t say he was a good thing beaten, but things probably just didn’t go his way.
I think you could make a case that he could have been right in the finish.”
Lees noted that Rivellino missed the start slightly and wasn’t able to find a handy position early, which left him chasing from behind throughout the race.
“They were all in a line at one stage so we were the last one to get the run, which was always going to be the case,” he said.
“He’s going to get a small field in the Sires’. He hasn’t got brilliant gate speed, if he’s got an Achillies’ heel, so a small field probably negates that.”