She Will Reign's recovery from a costly split-second lapse has propelled her to Golden Slipper favouritism and - in dramatically turning a negative into a positive - dismissed a lot of questions about her potential. It all came down to the response of jockey Ben Melham.

The flying unbeaten filly was a $1.35 favourite for Saturday's Silver Slipper at Rosehill, but when the gates opened she missed the start by three-quarters of a length.

She was a clear last within strides and lengths away from her expected position at the front. Melham didn't panic.

He didn't dig her up - rather, he let She Will Reign find her feet and go about proving she is the best two-year-old in the country.

"I think punters would have been more worried than me," Melham told stewards.

"And the chief steward," Marc van Gestel retorted.

She Will Reign picked her way through the field then took the lead and went away for an amazing win. It took her from $8 to a $3 favourite in the Golden Slipper at Ladbrokes.

"I have a lot of faith in her and she keeps living up to it," Melham said.

The daughter of Manhattan Rain, which only cost Darby racing $20,000, had made her reputation from the front but suddenly she had half a dozen rivals in front her. But Melham was calm, even confident.

"I was unfazed," he told stewards. "I didn't go out there with a plan and I just rode her to be comfortable.

"It wasn't ideal when she was tardy out but then she came straight back underneath me.

"Honesty, I believe it was a blessing in disguise; it is another string to her bow.

"As soon as she dropped her head the way she did I wasn't worried at all.

"She just went through her gears and I had to be quite easy on her late, which is very important going forward."

She Will Reign had overtaken half the field by the turn, by going up on the fence, and then loomed on the inside of leader Mystic Empire and Veranillo, which was making his charge in the centre of the track. She then raced clear.

The margin was 1-1/2 lengths to Veranillo with Showtime a half-length back in third on the line but it could have been bigger.

"It shows she is not one-dimensional," trainer Gary Portelli said. "We see what she does at trackwork and we know she has a turn-of-foot. It was just a matter of having something like that happen today to tell us she can come from behind.

"It was the perfect education for her going forward and I think now we've got a true chance in the Golden Slipper."

Portelli will give She Will Reign one more run in the Riesling Stakes in a fortnight before the Golden Slipper on March 18.

"She needs that run at 1200m but I go away from her with a lot more boxes ticked," Portelli said.

"I knew that she could do that, now everyone else does as well."

Godolphin trainer John O'Shea was happy with the effort of Veranillo, despite tasting defeat for the first time and hinted blinkers or winkers would be added for his next run, probably in the Todman Stakes.

"He is just not executing the way we would like. We have held off with the head gear until now and we have that up our sleeves," O'Shea said.

Khan was the disappointment of the race. He was back with She Will Reign but never improved his position and ran last, beaten by 6-1/2 lengths.

"We had to pop back to get some cover. Moved into it around the bend but he levelled out - he's going to only improve fitness-wise, so I wouldn't be putting a cross mark next to his name yet," jockey Kerrin McEvoy said.

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