The Galaxy Preview and Tips 22/03/25

Golden Slipper Day arrives, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest days on the racing calendar. At Rosehill Racecourse we see The Galaxy, the Golden Slipper, the George Ryder Stakes, the Rosehill Guineas and the Ranvet Stakes. On top of this, there’s another Group One at Moonee Valley Racecourse, in the William Reid Stakes.

We see a field of 14 runners confirmed in the final field for The Galaxy on Saturday, plus one emergency. At the time of writing, we have seen one scratching, with Ostraka being pulled from the race, which means the one and only emergency, Time To Boogie books his spot in the starting barriers.

It’s a big weekend of Group One races, but I have you completely covered with all my Saturday tips right here at OnlyRacing. I’ve got a tips article for all six key races this weekend, but this article is on The Galaxy specifically and I’ve gone through all 14 runners left in the field and analysed their chances of success, providing my five best bets.

There’s a whole stack of runners in this one that have barrier speed. So, with those runners fighting it out to gain their most favourable position, I expect The Galaxy will be run at a fast pace. The runners with barrier speed seemed to be grouped together in the barrier draw, so look for the middle barriers as runners will be exploding from there.

The pre-race favourite, Private Harry, is one of the runners that has speed to burn early and it seems likely that he’ll look to settle near the front, probably one off the leader. Commemorative is another one of the more fancied runners in the market and she might look to take the opposite approach, falling back and letting down with her fast closing speed.

The colt has captured the attention of many so far in his early career and he remains undefeated across four races. Private Harry is the horse to beat in this one and there is still a little bit of value in him, with PlayUp currently offering $3.30 for the 3YO. This is a step up from what he has been competing in as of late and it’s his first attempt at Group One level.

Private Harry won the Magic Millions Sunlight Plate back in early January and that was the last time we saw him. In that one, he beat the likes of Lady Of Camelot, who has been performing quite well so far this Autumn Racing Carnival. He has been back at the trials since then, winning both of them. Jockey Ashley Morgan keeps the ride as well.

Will this be the race that Growing Empire can finally break through for his first Group One victory? He has a current Group One record of 5:0-1-2 and I think he’s got a decent chance of claiming a win. Bet365 currently has Growing Empire on the fourth line of betting, at odds of $9.00 to win, which presents a little bit of value as well.

Things haven’t exactly gone his way so far this prep. He kicked things off with a seventh place (out of 10) in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes and then followed that up with a fourth place (out of 15) in the Newmarket Handicap. We see a driver change with JMac taking the reins from Mark Zahra and the 3YO gets a tongue tie for the first time.

On the hunt for some true value? Well, I think I’ve found it for you in Jedibeel. The 5YO is currently going around with odds of $19 to claim the win in The Galaxy, thanks to Dabble. Punters shouldn’t shy away from runners in the double-digits as 10 winners of The Galaxy have jumped with double-digit odds since 2009.

Jedibeel was last on the track in the Challenge Stakes, where he put in a great performance, winning by 1.3L and some of the same runners line up again at Rosehill for The Galaxy. Before his Group Two victory (which was at double-digit odds), he was trialling pretty well. He will have to put his best foot forward though, jumping from barrier 12.

Commemorative is one of the more favoured runners in The Galaxy and I tend to agree with the market. The mare only has to carry 51kg on her back, which is a 7kg swing to the top weight. She also has fast closing speed, so as long as she doesn’t get too far back and has to work her way through difficult traffic, she’ll give them a sight down the straight.

The 4YO is currently on the second line of betting with QuestBet and you can nab her for the win with odds of $4.60. The inside draw is my biggest concern as she does like the room to gallop and won’t get that in the opening stages. She’s looking for back-to-back wins after taking out the Group Three Wenona Girl Quality last time out.

Willing to take a chance on Lady Laguna who hasn’t done much so far this prep. Looking back this time last year, she was in the form of her life, winning the Canterbury Stakes and then almost going back-to-back but ended up finishing second by 0.1L in the George Ryder Stakes. Bet Right is currently offering $23 for Lady Laguna to claim the win.

More recently, she’s been running in races with a little more distance, but I still think the 1,100m she gets here is suitable. Her early form supports this and three of her seven career wins have come from distances across 1,000m to 1,100m. Was back at the trials in early March and Tommy Berry sticks from that. Not without hope.

All my The Galaxy horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Private Harry (win)	$3.30
	Growing Empire (each-way)	$9.00/$3.20
	Jedibeel (place)	$5.00
	Commemorative (each-way)	$4.60/$1.88
	Lady Laguna (place)	$5.50