A leaner Villa Verde is ready to turn the tables on Golden Slipper favourite Overreach
A leaner Villa Verde is ready to turn the tables on Golden Slipper favorite Overreach in Saturday's $3.5 million race, and neither an outside barrier draw nor the might of Gai Waterhouse may be enough to stop her, according to trainer Shaun Dwyer. After the initial disappointment of a seemingly horrible barrier had subsided, Dwyer spent Tuesday reassuring Villa Verde's owners that their filly had an undeniable winning chance, despite having come up with gate 17 of 18 at the draw. ''We've made up the ground in fitness and I'm confident that I send her to the races at the absolute top of her game...I've trained my horse to be 100 per cent for this race and I'm confident that I've done it.'' (The Age).
Advertisement Villa Verde, former favourite for the Golden Slipper but now widely quoted as a $15 chance after Overreach defeated her with ease first-up, will jump from gate 15 in the final field of 16 on Saturday, but Dwyer remains staunch that the wide barrier means little in a high-pressure raceI'm not overly concerned [with the barrier]. This is a Golden Slipper, it's a high-pressure race and four or five will go forward and the speed will be on,'' he saidIf we end up three deep with cover, I'd be pretty happy with that, and she'd have every chance to win the race with that sort of run.''