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Irish jockey Oisin Murphy is set to fly to Australia to ride the Victorian filly Loving Gaby if she makes the cut for the $3.5 million Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill on March 23.

It will be the first time Murphy, one of the most sought after riders on the international circuit, has ridden in Sydney.

The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Loving Gaby is currently 17th on the Golden Slipper order of entry with her place in the final 16 dependent on the results of the final lead-up races this weekend.

The lightly-raced filly would make the field on current standings but the order will change with the results of Saturday’s Magic Night Stakes and Pago Pago Stakes at Rosehill.

The winners of both $175,000 races receives automatic entry into the Golden Slipper while minor placings will also elevate other runners up the prizemoney order.

There are 16 Golden Slipper entries inside the top 80 on the current order of entry nominated for the Magic Night Stakes and Pago Stakes including eight in the top 30.

They include Loving Gaby, who has raced only twice for a debut win in the G3 Chairman’s Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield in January before finishing an unlucky sixth in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) on February 23 when she was ridden by Damian Lane.

Ciaron Maher has a huge opinion of the filly and is eager to see her gain a Golden Slipper start alongside stablemate Dubious, the Breeders Plate winner who topped off his build up with a third in the Todman Stakes at Randwick last Saturday.

Loving Gaby worked at Ballarat last Saturday before she was sent to the Maher and Eustace’s Sydney stable at Warwick Farm.

Maher said he was hoping she would not have to race this weekend to avoid the seven day back up to the Golden Slipper but the standings require that she run in a bid to lock down her place in the final field.

“It’s not ideal but it appears she may have to start on Saturday to ensure she has enough prizemoney to make the Slipper field,” Maher said.

Maher said UK-based Murphy had been placed on standby to ride Loving Gaby in the Golden Slipper due to his connection with the filly’s international owners Phoenix Thoroughbreds.

Murphy rides Phoenix Thoroughbred-owned horses in the northern hemisphere and partnered their filly Signora Cabello to win the G2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot last year.

The 23-year-old jockey has ridden more than 730 winners including 11 G1 victories in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Dubai and Canada.

He enjoyed a successful riding stint in Japan in December and January and has recently divided his time between riding in the UK and Dubai.

Murphy had a successful stint in Victoria as an apprentice in 2013, riding 13 winners including six in Melbourne. He returned for last year’s spring carnival, finishing second in the Manikato Stakes and Cox Plate before a suspension ruled him out of the Melbourne Cup.

Dubai-based Phoenix Thoroughbred was formed in 2017 and has since spent more than $US30 million on bloodstock and establishing stables in the USA, Europe, Australia and the UAE.

The company, founded by Dubai-based businessman Amer Abdulaziz, has horses with more than a dozen leading trainers around the world including Bob Baffert, Andre Fabre, Sir Michael Stoute, Richard Fahey, Peter Chapel-Hyam, Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher.

Their horses in Australia are trained by the Maher/Eustace partnership and Michael Kent.