The Sydney Turf Club was back at its racing headquarters Rosehill Gardens for day two of their Golden Slipper Carnival on Saturday and the new stand facilities were open and in full swing.

Darley sponsored the day and they held a large function for their breeding clients with the blue Darley flags prominent around the course.

With their pending takeover of the Woodlands Stud breeding and racing operation apparently not far away once government formalities have been agreed to allow the foreign transfer of ownership, it was fitting then that the cerise of Woodlands carried on their triumphant return from the equine influenza shut-down of racing last spring in NSW for the Ingham’s.

While Bob Ingham is preparing to purchase yearlings at the Easter Sale commencing on April 20th in Sydney for racing for pleasure over the coming years in his retained cerise colours, the large team prepared by Peter Snowden at Crown Lodge at Warwick Farm continues to race for Ingham and family.

They won the Golden Slipper last year with the outstanding filly Forensics who has returned to the top this autumn, although Damien Oliver wore the black and cerise cap colours on that occasion. With the field for this year’s Golden Slipper considered to be even, Saturday’s win of Portillo in the Group II Magic Night Stakes for Woodlands may give them another opportunity for the Slipper under the Woodlands banner.

Much has to go right this week however, with the Red Ransom filly able to cope with backing up three weeks in succession, and then the vital barrier draw in Martin Place, Sydney, at mid-day on Tuesday, must go Portillo’s way.

But the day also belonged to the owners who travelled with their Goulburn trained mare Throne Inn to the city, and collected the Group III Cleanevent Stakes – formerly the Birthday Card Stakes. This was the four-year-old King of Kings mare’s sixth win, but her most important giving her the invaluable black type.

That aside, the celebrations and joy the owners displayed in the mounting yard as trainer Ken Callaughan conducted his media responsibilities was what racing is all about. They had come to the big smoke before with Throne Inn and won, but this was bigger and better, and on a carnival day.

Goulburn supplied the winner of the first race of the day when Wasted Emotions won for Danny Williams who makes many a successful foray to Sydney. Wasted Emotion, well rated by Craig Newitt, has had injury problems, but when Williams can get him to the races he scores as his six wins from just nine starts testifies.

The former country jockey Peter Robl won his first Group I on the Anthony Cummings trained Dealer Principal. Robl rides every race like it is a Group I event and important for the owners, a positive attribute, and it was splendid to see him win a real one. He won the Albury Cup on Friday and now takes a break to serve a suspension.

Before Robl came to ride work at Warwick Farm earlier this season he had not lived in a street with other houses in it, that is real country comes to town.

The jockeys shared the spoils of the day around with Larry Cassidy having the good and the bad. He rode two winners, Sidereus and Throne Inn, but then gave up the ride on Dealer Principal in the Rosehill Guineas to Robl to ride fifth placed Steel Giant. No one was suspended and Danny Nikolic returns for Slipper Day, Robl for AJC Derby Day and Blake Shinn has his appeal against his suspension taking him out of Slipper Day heard on Monday.

Littorio, third in the Rosehill Guineas, and Red Ruler (NZ), sixth, were runs to watch for the AJC Australian Derby on April 26th.

One young man however will remember Rosehill Guineas Day for another reason than who finished where, as he finished on his back and was then taken away for serious treatment.

Joe, regretfully we do not have his surname, was strapping Sweet Science, the Bart Cummings trained Commands colt in the Group II Darley Pago Pago Stakes, and while in the mounting yard before the race Sweet Science barrelled Joe with a hind lash that saw Joe receive the blow in the face.

John Thompson, the Cummings foreman, said that there was blood aplenty and the Joe had to be treated for a rearranged jaw.

Sweet Science is named after a boxer, and he is owned by stable client Les Smith who was a boxer, as was his father, and poor Joe was floored as if he had been pole axed by one. Sympathies to Joe, and perhaps Sweet Science should suffer a fate regularly dealt out to colt’s who race unkindly as he did on Saturday.