Chayan held no Golden Slipper credentials three months prior.

Co-trainer Annabel Archibald even eyed a paddock spell for the filly, skipping any official trial.

That notion flipped after a basic jump-out, which revolutionised Chayan.

‘She had an unofficial jump-out at Christmas and I said to Eric Koh, her owner, “she will probably just have this jump out and go out” because mentally, she was a little bit hot,’ Archibald recalled.

‘But she jumped out really well and really relaxed after that. She started mentally going the right way.

‘We sent her down to Melbourne and she had those couple of runs there, and I think that has held her in really good stead.’

Her Victorian efforts yielded second in the Blue Diamond Fillies’ Prelude (1100m) and a seventh placing from a poor draw in the Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) amid a hard run.

Resuming in Sydney, connections gambled on a Golden Slipper path race.

Chayan powered to a three-length romp in the Reisling Stakes (1200m), clinching her Saturday slot, and from post 12, she’s the outright favourite for the Slipper.

The filly has aced all prep markers per Archibald, including a sharp trackwork hit-out on Tuesday.

‘I couldn’t be any happier with her. She started her campaign off in Melbourne and didn’t have much luck with the draws down there, but ran really well,’ she said.

‘It was pleasing to see her come up here and put it all together. All of the ratings guys said she ran really good time, and the figures were good, and that’s all we can ask for as a last start heading into this race.’

Slipper campaigns are known to Archibald, who entered perfect Learning To Fly in 2023 at $6.50 in what she dubbed a ‘character-building’ tilt after a pre-straight stumble unseated Chad Schofield.

This time, Schofield rides rival Stretan Ruler for Phillip Stokes, fresh off a stirring Silver Slipper (1100m) win and eye-catching close for second in the front-runners’ Todman Stakes (1200m).

Schofield, on for recent starts, sees potential.

‘I just think he wants tempo,’ Schofield said.

‘In the Silver Slipper, we got tempo. It was free-flowing, and he unlocked that devastating turn of foot.

‘The other day in the Todman, it was just a trot and canter and a dash home for three hundred metres. He was still really good, but if we get a solidly run 1200 metres, which the Slipper generally is, we will see the best of him. And I think the best of him is going to be hard to beat.’

Visit online bookmakers to find the top Golden Slipper markets.