Damien Oliver beat a star-studded field chasing the Golden Slipper mount on second favourite Real Saga when he was confirmed as the rider of the top colt for Saturday week's Rosehill showpiece.The champion jockey got the call he was hoping for when John Hawkes, who co-trains Real Saga with his sons Wayne and Michael, phoned Oliver's manager Mark Van Triet on Wednesday morning to tell him he had the ride on the outstanding two-year-old.Also in line for the mount had been Michael Rodd, Glen Boss a
Damien Oliver beat a star-studded field chasing the Golden Slipper mount on second favourite Real Saga when he was confirmed as the rider of the top colt for Saturday week's Rosehill showpiece.
The champion jockey got the call he was hoping for when John Hawkes, who co-trains Real Saga with his sons Wayne and Michael, phoned Oliver's manager Mark Van Triet on Wednesday morning to tell him he had the ride on the outstanding two-year-old.
Also in line for the mount had been Michael Rodd, Glen Boss and Glyn Schofield.
Oliver combined with the Hawkes stable to win the 2007 Slipper on Forensics with a great ride from barrier one.
"I suppose you can probably think of a million reasons why or why not to put D Oliver on but we have put him on once before on a filly called Forensics so his record with us is pretty damn good in a Golden Slipper," Wayne Hawkes told Sport 927.
"(Real Saga) won really well last Saturday. They might have been B-graders some of them but he got pushed in on the fence and it wasn't really where we wanted him to be.
"But Darren (Beadman) sat quiet on him and he gobbled them up pretty quick. He had a good blow after the race because it had been a month from the (Blue) Diamond to the Todman. So he showed there was a bit of improvement left in him, believe it or not."
Hawkes said Real Saga showed he was potentially an outstanding horse as he could be ridden forward or back.
"Only very good horses can do that," he said.
The way he was ridden in the $3.5 million Slipper (1200m) would be determined by the barrier draw.
"If he gets Forensics' barrier of one he will be where she was. She was three back on the fence the whole way," Hawkes said.
Oliver has ridden Real Saga twice, for a three-length win over Reward For Effort in the Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) before a 1-1/4 length second to the same colt after settling well back from barrier 11 and storming home late in the Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), both at Caulfield last month.
The Tale Of The Cat colt was ridden by Beadman when he finished powerfully from last of the eight runners to score by 2-3/4 lengths from Phelan Ready in the Todman Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 21.
But Hong Kong-based Beadman is committed to riding the Gai Waterhouse-trained More Joyous in the Slipper.
He won the Reisling Stakes (1200m) on the impressive More Than Ready filly at Rosehill last Saturday.
More Joyous is $3.20 Slipper favourite with TAB Sportsbet with Real Saga firming slightly to $3.50.