Golden Gift winner North England has been withdrawn from the Silver Slipper at Rosehill after returning unsatisfactory blood test results.

Co-trainer Adrian Bott confirmed that the colt’s scheduled return in Saturday’s race had been called off as a precaution, though the plan is to continue with his Golden Slipper campaign.

“I wasn’t 100% happy with his bloods, so we’ll give it another day,” Bott said.

North England, Tulloch Lodge’s top contender for this year’s Golden Slipper, was considered one of the favourites for the Silver Slipper (1100m) and sits at $11 in the second line of betting for the Golden Slipper with online bookmakers.

The horse who finished second to North England in the Golden Gift, West Of Swindon, will still run at Rosehill, and co-trainer Michael Hawkes is confident about his chances.

West Of Swindon had a difficult start in his debut race, settling at the back of the field from a wide barrier, but finished strongly to narrowly miss victory. Hawkes is eager to see how the horse performs from a better draw against top contenders like the dominant 2025 Golden Slipper favourite Wodeton.

“Had he drawn a better barrier that day, he would’ve been much closer and probably won,” Hawkes said.

“The sectionals show everything. He was forced to go back from the bad draw, but with a better gate, he would’ve been closer to the front, making his own luck.”

“He’s drawn barrier one for the Silver Slipper, so he should be much closer this time.”

“I know everyone’s talking about Wodeton, and yes, he’s a good horse. But ours is a good horse too.”

West Of Swindon was priced at $5 for the Silver Slipper on Thursday and is at $17 for the Golden Slipper, while Wodeton’s odds shortened to $1.95 for Saturday’s feature after North England’s withdrawal.