There were no hard stories about this time, Hellbent was right on the ball in winning the Group 1 William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley.

He was denied the Oakleigh Plate, due to sheer bad luck, however, that is all behind him now, there was no bad luck story last night, Craig Williams made sure of that.

Instead of looking for runs Williams elected to circle the field that was the winning move, the race was soon put beyond doubt.

The Mitchell family, Arthur and Harry, are involved in the ownership of Hellbent, and now that he has won a Group1, and rising five year old, a stud career may not be far off.

Hellbent is by Yarraman Park’s leading sire, I Am Invincible, whose progeny earnings this season are $9,946,858.

Hellbent wins William Reid Stakes 

Chess Star led his rivals a merry dance when he led all the way for an impressive win at Moonee Valley, on Friday evening.

The win was appropriate as Gai Waterhouse jointly trains the colt with Adrian Bott, and she trained his sire, Fighting Sun, who remained unbeaten after just two starts.

He looked a definite Golden Slipper horse in the making, until an injury stepped in and he was forced into retirement.

This was Fighting Sun’s first city winner, and it certainly won’t be his last, his dam, Social Glow, won eight races, including the Christmas Handicap, she was a pretty handy mare and was up to listed company, leaving five winners from seven foals to race.

Chess Star winning at Moonee Valley 

Fiorente had his first winner when Hawkshot won impressively at Ballarat, at his first start.

He could well graduate to City Company, as he was well above those that he met on his home track.

The colt is raced by the breeders, Sun Stud; he is a bay from Rosa Perlato, a mare by Encosta de Lago.

Hawkshot is about the only serious horse to race at this stage by Fiorente, others will soon be coming through the system as we reach the few remaining months of the season.

The ability of Fiorente as a sire should not be questioned; he was a great racehorse to come off a Melbourne Cup win, and then the Australian Cup, that is the ultimate.

The Liston family of Three Bridges were dealt a cruel blow with the death of their sire, Unencumbered.

He had a promising career, a lightly raced horse that possessed a stack of ability; he won five of his ten starts, and just on 2 million dollars in stake earnings.

His passing is a big loss to the Victorian Breeding Industry; he covered over 500 mares in his four seasons at Three Bridges.

Replacing him will never be easy as the demand for lightly raced stallions is at a premium, he could have well been on the crest on a wave.

Unencumbered emulated his sire, Testa Rossa, a brilliant sprinter and sire, as both won the Magic Millions Classic.

The Golden Slipper Stakes was born on a stormy night, when the fledging Sydney Turf Club was still in its infancy, several decades ago.

The committee of the S T C had visions to sponsor a prestigious race to highlight their Autumn Carnival.

The man that came up with the idea was George Ryder, who owned Woodlands Stud, and was a founding member of the Sydney Turf Club.

Ryder’s proposal was for a rich two year old race, this raised the ire of many members of the Sydney Turf Club, who thought Ryder was feathering his own nest, as he was standing a brilliant sire at the time in Newtown Wonder.

The Slipper was on an unsteady foundation for some time, surrounded by controversy, ridiculed by critics, denigrated by rival breeding factions, who accused Ryder of putting on the race to suit the progeny of his speed sire, Newtown Wonder.

It was a time for back stabbing and insults, George Ryder was disheartened, a lesser man may have quit, but that was not his style.

His forceful personality and unwavering belief that the Golden Slipper would succeed finally carried the day.

Easter 1954, saw entries were taken from 1500 broodmares who were nominated for the Golden Slipper Stakes, later 300 yearlings were entered.

In 1957 was the birth of the inaugural running of the Golden Slipper Stakes in a field of 11 runners, Todman won in record time by eight lengths, starting at 6-1 on.

The race proved an unparalleled success; it became the signature race of the Sydney Turf Club        

Todman was ridden by the late Neville Sellwood, trained by Maurice McCarten at Randwick, and owned by Stanley Wootton, and sired the great, Star Kingdom.

Star Kingdom sired five winners of the Golden Slipper,Todman , Fine and Dandy , the brothers, Sky Line and Sky High, and Magic Night.

Todman turned out a pretty good sire himself, siring Sweet Embrace and Eskimo Prince, giving Athol Mulley his second win in the race, as he also rode Sky High for Brian Crowley, Chairman of the Australian Jockey Club

George Ryder with Wayne Harris, youngest jockey to win Slipper.