Two days after Headwater stormed to Golden Slipper favouritism, Vancouver needed less than a minute to prove to a handful of spectators the world's richest two-year-old race may not be a foregone conclusion after all.
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At least not if you listen to the unbeaten colt's trainer Gai Waterhouse.
"He's a very special horse and he's had a spring campaign and you can't beat that," Waterhouse said after her leading Slipper hope sped to a three-and-a-half length trial win against a bunch of unraced two-year-olds at Randwick on Monday.
The hitout won't shake up betting markets like Headwater's demolition of a smart Silver Slipper field, but it was certainly enough for the Waterhouse camp to be buoyed by their decision to wait for the Todman Stakes as Vancouver's Slipper tune-up.
While Headwater has Hawkes Racing on the brink of back-to-back Slippers - even Waterhouse conceded he will be "very hard to beat" - the Tulloch Lodge army won't be confined to just Vancouver.
Smart Kembla Grange debutant winner English flew in her trial win, recording a time half-a-second quicker than that of Vancouver over the same 734-metre trip. Magic Millions contender Carriages was also a heat victor.
"Vancouver and English were the best of them and Carriages was very honest as usual," Waterhouse said. "But English was very, very good and looks to be almost my best filly."
Waterhouse's Slipper stocks appear as strong as ever after the latest order of entry was released on Monday, with the five-time winner having Vancouver, Flamboyant Lass and Giulietta safely nestled inside the field.
Pierrette and Right Of Way are also circling for Waterhouse, but even her numbers can't match the Godolphin arsenal which has seven of the top 16.
Waterhouse's trial winners on her home track also included iron mare Sweet Idea, Excess Knowledge and Ryker who all took advantage of a rare workout on the course proper.
Sweet Idea just shaded Gerald Ryan's speedy Rubick, who will resume in the Challenge Stakes on Saturday week.
"He dwelt a little bit at the start which he can do, but he quickened nicely enough to sit outside Sweet Idea and I was really happy with him," Ryan said.
Meanwhile, two-time defending Doncaster Mile champion Sacred Falls, who was given a quiet time at the Randwick trials, has been lumped with 58-kilograms for the Randwick feature after weights were released for the $3 million race.
His impost is half-a-kilogram greater than that of Dissident with Sacred Falls' Cox Plate-winning stablemate Adelaide handed 57-kilograms.
Melbourne Cup hero Protectionist, slated to resume in the group 2 Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday, was made the 58-kilogram topweight in the Sydney Cup ahead of foreign raiders Dominant (Hong Kong) and Red Cadeaux (Great Britain), who will both carry 56.5 kilograms.
Dominant and Red Cadeaux will be two of the internationals to be housed at the Canterbury quarantine facility, which was finally given federal government approval on Monday. It will open on Wednesday before the four Japanese raiders for The Championships jet into Sydney later that night.
Also, Sydney-based trainer Tony McEvoy (Manhattan Blues) as well as the Peter and Paul Snowden partnership (Pride Of Dubai) have paid a late entry fee of $55,000 for the $1 million Blue Diamond on Saturday. The final field will be declared on Tuesday.
