Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted October 12, 2022 Journalists Share Posted October 12, 2022 Chris Waller’s defending champion, Nature Strip, has the outside barrier to overcome in his bid at back-to-back $15 million The Everest (1200m) wins this Saturday at Royal Randwick. Nature Strip is favourite to go back-to-back in The Everest 2022 this weekend in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart. Twelve of the country’s best sprinters face off in the sixth edition of the world’s richest turf race on the weekend, and all the money is on eight-year-old Nature Strip to emulate Redzel (2017, 2018) to become the second dual The Everest champion in history. He has been outstanding since winning the event last year at his third attempt collecting a host of other elite level races both in Australia and overseas. The Champion Racehorse of the Year was so dominant winning the King’s Stand Stakes in the UK by over four lengths before returning home to win the Group 2 The Shorts fresh leading-up to his The Everest title defence. Nature Strip jumps from barrier 12 of 12 on the weekend with the flying James McDonald in the saddle again, the duo dominating The Everest betting at quote of $2 through Ladbrokes. Only two other The Everest contenders are under $10 for the win this Sydney Spring Racing Carnival with Lost And Running ($7) and Eduardo ($8.50) having run fourth and third respectively in last year’s race. The John O’Shea-trained Per Incanto gelding Lost And Running is third-up and fit on Saturday having run third in The Shorts before a fighting victory in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) here on October 1. He jumps from barrier seven with Hugh Bowman in the saddle, while Eduardo is wider in gate nine for jockey Nash Rawiller. Trainer Joe Pride has two The Everest runners in 2022 with his nine-year-old stalwart Eduardo joined in the line-up by last start Group 2 Gilgai Stakes winner Private Eye. Eduardo is the early The Everest betting market mover having been backed in from double-figures with the likely Heavy track to suit. He won fresh on a Heavy (9) in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) carrying 60.5kg to a big 2.5 length win before a fourth when under two lengths beaten on Soft going in The Shorts. Private Eye, a four-time winner from five starts at the 1200m distance, was also good with a big weight winning the Gilgai down the Flemington straight by over two lengths with 60kg on his back. He is at a current quote of $14 to beat the big guns on The Everest Day, but shapes up as potential value for a placing. Masked Crusader is drawn barrier 10 for William Pike, the Hawkes Racing-trained galloper out to go one better than his second to Nature Strip when narrowly beaten last spring. The Toronado six-year-old remains winless since his Premiere Stakes success last year leading-up to The Everest and comes off a third in that same event this year when finishing off well. There are two three-year-old The Everest hopefuls this year out to join Yes Yes Yes (2019) as the only youngster to win the event so far. Jacquinot is the better fancied of the pair at $10 following his eye-catching Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) win out wide in Sydney last time out. Giga Kick is the other three-year-old in the mix jumping from barrier five with Craig Williams riding the $20 outsider in betting. The Clayton Douglas-trained son of Scissor Kick is undefeated bringing a flawless four-from-four record into his acid test on the weekend having won the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) at an odds-on quote at headquarters a fortnight back. Mazu ($16) is the only other chance under double-figures with Sam Clipperton booked to ride the Group 1 winning son of Maurice. The now four-year-old took out a string of races last time in including the Group 2 Arrowfield 3YO Stakes (1200m) on a Heavy (10) at Randwick in April. He backed up in Brisbane winning the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1200m) and comes via the traditional The Everest lead-ups with a The Shorts fifth and brilliant second in the Premiere. The Everest is scheduled as Race 7 at 4:15pm (AEDT) on Randwick’s bumper 10-race card for Saturday. No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Probable Weight Penalty Hcp Rating 1 11x231x1x1 NATURE STRIP Chris Waller James McDonald 12 58.5kg 123 2 131x312x14 EDUARDO Joseph Pride Nash Rawiller 9 58.5kg 118 3 4421x10x31 LOST AND RUNNING (NZ) John O’Shea Hugh Bowman 7 58.5kg 115 4 126x579x63 MASKED CRUSADER Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes William Pike 10 58.5kg 113 5 1x11111x52 MAZU Peter & Paul Snowden Sam Clipperton 11 58.5kg 113 6 85x35082x1 PRIVATE EYE Joseph Pride Brenton Avdulla 3 58.5kg 113 7 x121557x26 OVERPASS Bjorn Baker Ms Rachel King 6 58.5kg 109 8 38x5873x12 INGRATIATING James Cummings Glyn Schofield 4 58.5kg 104 9 20x44x17x1 JOYFUL FORTUNE Mark Newnham Tom Sherry 1 58.5kg 77 10 111xP21111 SHADES OF ROSE Bjorn Baker Kerrin McEvoy 8 56.5kg 102 11 1536×11 JACQUINOT Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) Damian Lane 2 53kg 102 12 1×111 GIGA KICK Clayton Douglas Craig Williams 5 53kg 90 13e x211148x68 FORBIDDEN LOVE Michael Freedman 0 56.5kg 113 14e 4133x210x5 APACHE CHASE Desleigh Forster 0 58.5kg 110 15e 410x103x54 KEMENTARI James Cummings 0 58.5kg 110 16e 1210x329x6 IN THE CONGO Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 0 58.5kg 105 Table Credit: Racing Australia. The post 2022 The Everest Field & Betting Update: Nature Strip Favourite in Barrier 12 appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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