Streisand hasn’t raced since the Blue Diamond, yet the happenings afterward have bolstered her prospects for Saturday’s Golden Slipper, as per Clinton McDonald.
The Cranbourne-based trainer took special satisfaction from Chayan validating the Blue Diamond form via a dominant victory in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes at Randwick on March 7.
Chayan finished second to Streisand in the Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude and was unplaced behind her along with several others in the Group 1 Blue Diamond on February 21, leaving McDonald enthusiastic for the upcoming $5 million Group 1 at Rosehill.
McDonald believes his daughter of Magnus deserves acclaim as the top filly of her generation and anticipates her opportunity to demonstrate it in the 1200-metre showcase this weekend.
“We’ve met her twice and beaten her twice,” McDonald said of Chayan.
“I feel my filly is the best filly in the land at the moment and she’s probably the best two-year-old, because she’s been the most consistent from the spring to the autumn.
“She’s had five starts for two seconds, two wins and an unlucky fifth on the track where you couldn’t make ground. She’s been consistently good the whole way through.”
Streisand’s triumphs in the Blue Diamond and Blue Diamond Prelude came after a fifth in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Preview, while she suffered narrow defeats in the Listed Maribyrnong Trial and the $500,000 Inglis Banner during last spring.
Streisand is among just two entrants in this year’s Golden Slipper with five prior starts – the other is Shiki – something McDonald views as a strength to handle the four-week layoff.
In the last 40 years, only three horses have claimed the Slipper following a break of at least four weeks, including Courtza, trained by McDonald’s father Ross to achieve the Diamond/Slipper double in 1989.
Courtza ranks among only five two-year-olds to secure both the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper, with colt Sepoy (2011) the sole one since.
On his mother’s side, McDonald’s grandfather Bon Hoysted also readied a horse for the double, with Manikato accomplishing it in 1978.
“I followed a bit of the same path as dad did with Courtza and we’re going straight to the Slipper (from the Blue Diamond), but we feel that she’s got the race smarts and the race sense to be able to do that,” he said.
Streisand secured barrier 11 in the Slipper but could shift to nine should the third and fourth emergencies fail to start, and her Diamond success from gate 10 reassures McDonald that the draw poses no issue.
“It was a slow tempo, but she still sat wide and sprinted off it, so I think she’s in it right up to her ears,” he said.
“She can race on speed, she can race back, she goes on wet and dry. She’s got no chinks in her armour.”
Just like in the Blue Diamond, Streisand will have Ben Melham aboard, as he pursues a second Golden Slipper success after his 2017 win on She Will Reign.
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