Joe Tackles the Everest: Big Race Preview

With this year’s TAB Everest almost upon us, here’s Joe Fortune with a look at the runners and riders, along with all the info you need to know about the world’s richest horse race on turf. If you haven’t already, be sure to put Saturday, 19th October 2024 in your diaries, and don’t miss what I reckon will be an absolute ripper of a race!

 

The 2024 Everest

The Everest is Australia’s richest horse race, held each year at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. Launched in 2017, it is a special race set-up where slots are bought and sold to owners, trainers, or businesses, giving them the chance to secure a spot and pick a horse to run in the race. For the first time ever, the race now has Group 1 status which confirms its status, as one the elite races in the country.

The race is over 1200m, and runners compete for prize money of $20,000,000. There are a maximum of 12 runners in the race, however, should there be any scratchings, there is a list of reserves who can be called upon to ensure holders get the best chance of having a runner.

Form Guide

Since 2017, only one horse has won the race more than once, that was Redzel in 2017 and 2018. Jockey Kerrin McEvoy was on board on both occasions. He was also in the saddle when Classique Legend won in 2020 and is the only rider to have won the race more than once. In the seven editions of the race, there has yet to be a filly or mare who has won; it’s all been about the boys, with six geldings and one colt having been victorious.

Three of the races have been won by five-year old horses, with last year’s winner, Think About It, falling into this age-group. Chris Waller and the Peter & Paul Snowden partnership are the only two trainers to have had two winners in the race, so if you want to follow one of these trainers then you need to have Joliestar or Switzerland as your picks.

 

Fancied Favourites

For much of the betting over the last couple of weeks, I Wish I Win, last year’s runner up, has been heavily backed. Trained by the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman team, there is plenty of support for the six-year-old gelding to go one better than last year. Also fancied has been Bella Nipotina, which is trained by Ciaron Maher. However, could it be a bad omen that slot holders TAB has picked the mare, given that so far it has not ever managed to select the winner in the race it sponsors? Maher also has Growing Empire in the race too. This three-year-old colt has not finished outside the top two in any of his six races to date. This includes being runner-up in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes, where he was edged out by his stablemate Southport Tycoon.

Joliestar is a four-year-old mare trained by champion Chris Waller. Although she might not have the experience of several other runners, she has won a Group 1 race and has been respected due to being in the hands of NSW’s top trainer. Godolphin has also got a fancied runner in this year’s race in the name of Traffic Warden. I can promise you one thing: this three-year-old colt won’t be parking up illegally; he comes back in fine form, finishing a narrow second to stablemate Broadsiding in the Group1 Golden Rose.

Possible Place Picks

The horse of the Spring in Sydney so far has been I Am Me. The six-year-old mare has been in fine form, winning two races, including The Shorts over 1100 metres at Royal Randwick. She is certainly in with a great chance to finish in the first three places. Another runner which has certainly gained plenty of attention is Storm Boy. The colt was favourite to win the Golden Slipper earlier in the year, but he didn’t quite perform on that big day. With Switzerland having won at Rosehill on Saturday, the last slot is still up in the air between these two runners, whichever gets the nod, you can be sure they’ll be in with a shout of a top three finish.

 

Ready to Run Roughies

Could the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Lady of Camelot follow up her win in the Golden Slipper and take out The Everest as well? Punters haven’t been too keen to support this runner, but you can be sure that she has a chance given her form this year. The Bjorn Baker-trained Stefi Magnetica returned in fine order to finish second over 1100m in the Group 2 Shorts at Randwick, with a bit more luck, she might have won that day.

 

Don’t Forget

A couple of other runners that should not be forgotten include the winner from two years ago, Giga Kick. Since suffering an injury, we haven’t seen the horse hitting quite the standards, but you can never write a champion off!  Also, Private Eye, trained by Joe Pride, is another who hasn’t shown his best this season but did finish third in the race last year and might well be ready to fire come the big race on Saturday. Is Sunshine in Paris the forgotten runner in the market? Form over 1200m has been excellent, and at about $10 presently, I expect this mare to have support on race day!

 

Joe’s Pick

As always, your mate Joe Fortune is keen to point out a few bits of vital info when it comes to racing in Sydney during the spring… you must keep an eye on the weather, as the showers can have a huge impact on the condition of the track. As well as that, there can also be a strong breeze impacting how races at Randwick are run.

With that in mind, albeit a few days out from the race, I reckon that I will have a couple of bets this year that are worth having a few bucks on. First up, I’ve picked Traffic Warden, currently $8, as a winning selection, and I’ve also decided to have a few bucks to win and place on my value bet, which is Stefi Magnetica, currently about $15.