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Cautious optimism ahead of racing at Rosehill

Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel is confident the Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) will go ahead on Saturday despite a forecast for more rain in Sydney, with the track set to be inspected at 6am ahead of the Group 1 meeting. 

Racing officials are banking on a forecasted Sydney deluge holding off long enough to save Golden Slipper day from being washed out.

"At this point in time we expect to proceed barring the fact we get additional rainfall that hasn't been predicted," said Racing NSW chief steward Marc Van Gestel.

Van Gestel walked the Rosehill track late on Friday and admits he was pleasantly surprised by the state of the surface despite almost 46mm of rain in the 24 hours up to 9am.

"It's quite pleasing to see the track in this condition," he said.

Van Gestel said forecasters had told him that Rosehill can expect a further 24mm of rain before the Golden Slipper meeting gets underway on Saturday.

"In years gone by we've run race meetings where we've had 20mm throughout the day and have been able to continue," he said.

"While there is some rain going to fall throughout the day, the track is in remarkable condition considering the rainfall."

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting up to 120mm to hit Sydney on Saturday as a "significant system" heads south.

Rosehill was downgraded from a soft to heavy range after more overnight rain.