Paris in but Imperatriz out as The Everest takes shape
Aquis Farm snaps up daughter of Invader as Te Akau knock back offers for their flying McEwen Stakes winner
Saturday’s dynamic Sheraco Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Sunshine In Paris (Invader) has been confirmed as the latest runner in next month’s The Everest (1200m), on a day the complexion for Sydney’s $20 million showpiece received a sizable shake up with the rejection of a slot by another impressive record breaker from the weekend.
Aquis Farm revealed yesterday that the Annabel Neasham-trained Sunshine In Paris, who is by their dual Group 1-winning stallion Invader (Snitzel), will race in their slot on the October 14 contest at Randwick, with the four-year-old filly’s emergence as a leading sprinter after her race-record performance on Saturday making her ‘an obvious choice’ for the Gold Coast hinterland-based outfit.
However, perhaps providing more of a shock twist to the make-up of this year’s race, was the revelation yesterday that Te Akau Racing had shunned offers from slot holders to race their impressive McEwen Stakes (Gr 2, 1000m) winner Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) in this year’s The Everest, with principal David Ellis telling SEN that the offers on the table “have not been acceptable”.
Five-time Group 1 winner Imperatriz scorched the Moonee Valley turf to down the reigning Everest champion Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) and win Saturday’s McEwen Stakes in a track record time of 56.68 seconds, which prompted bookmakers to slash the mare’s price for The Everest into single figures.
While Ellis did not shut the door entirely on Imperatriz lining up at Randwick on October 14, her spring programme as it stands will see her remain in Melbourne and return to The Valley to take on the Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) and Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m), before contesting the Champions Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington on November 11.
“The only offers that we’ve had have not been acceptable and we’re pretty happy with the path that we’re going down in Melbourne,” Ellis said.
“We’ve got a new stable there [in Cranbourne], with Ben Gleeson running it for us with Mark Walker, and the deals that have been put to us [for The Everest] haven’t really excited me and we’re going to go for the Group 1s in Melbourne.
“I haven’t really got that far [with putting a deadline to slot holders]… we’ll put a bit of thought into it this week.”
Aquis Farm’s sealed agreement with the connections of Sunshine In Paris takes the number of confirmed runners for The Everest to five, with the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) winner joining Think About It (So You Think) (Newgate & GPI Racing), Mazu (Maurice) (Arrowfield & The Star), reigning champion Giga Kick (James Harron Bloodstock) and the Waikato Stud-owned sprinter I Wish I Win (Savabeel) (Trackside).
Jonathan Davies, director of sales for Aquis Farm, told ANZ Bloodstock News that the stud had been hopeful of securing Sunshine In Paris, who the farm bred from their mare Zenaida (Zabeel), for the race for some time.
“She’s by one of our own in Invader, indeed she’s his first Group 1 winner from his first crop, and she showed on Saturday that she’d come back better than ever, and has just taken that next step,” he said.
“She’s always been on our radar. Winning a Group 1, being by Invader, she’s always a horse that’s been a candidate for us in the race. Doing what she did in her first preparation, with her Surround Stakes victory, she outlined that she’s a pretty special filly, beating arguably the best three-year-old filly in the country that day in In Secret.
“I think she’ll be strong over the Randwick 1200 metres. She’s a Group 1 winner over 1400 metres, as was Invader who was Group 1-placed over a mile. Being lightly raced, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of her yet.
“It’s great to be able to have a horse by one of our stallions to race in our slot for The Everest. It’s something that we’ve wanted to do for a few years and is one of the main reasons why we have a slot in The Everest.”
Victory in The Everest, which this year is worth a cool $7 million to the winner, would make the $3.9 million paid for Sunshine In Paris by renowned owner-breeder John Camilleri at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Broodmare Sale appear a value acquisition.
Camilleri, who bred champion racehorse Winx (Street Cry) and has enjoyed several big days on the racetrack, expressed his delight at being a part of the race which commands global attention.
“It’s a big thrill. It’s always great to have a runner on these big carnival days but The Everest, it’s just next level,’’ Camilleri told Racing NSW.
“It’s a race that the world looks at now. Peter V’landys has done an amazing job in his creation and then the promotion of The Everest.
“She was a Group 1-winning, outstanding–looking mare, so she’s got a massive residual value regardless,’’ he added.
“You listen to Annabel and she doesn’t think she’s got to the bottom of her yet, so it’s fairly exciting and hopefully Annabel is half right.
“I find it very hard to line them up, she couldn’t do much more than what she did on Saturday. History is against her, but there is always a first time and that’s the hope we live in.”
With Aquis having secured Sunshine Paris, seven slots remain vacant for aspirants for The Everest to show their credentials, but with Coolmore likely to race their Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Shinzo (Snitzel); Godolphin possessing both dual Group 1 winner In Secret (I Am Invincible) and Saturday’s Run To The Rose (Gr 2, 1200m) scorer Cylinder (Exceed And Exceed); Yulong awaiting the prosperous return to action this spring of their star sprinter Alcohol Free (No Nay Never), and Chris Waller seeking to select one of his own runners for the race, the pool of available slot holder destinations diminishes to three.
Those slot holders biding their time to select their runners include the Max Whitby and Neil Werrett syndicate, the Australian Turf Club – who last year sold their slot to owner Boniface Ho – and the TAB.
Saturday’s The Shorts (Gr 2, 1100m) at Randwick will likely play an influential role in determining who will be snapped up for The Everest by the remaining slot holders, with the race acting as somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the world’s richest sprint race.
Of the 19 horses nominated yesterday for The Shorts, three contested The Everest in 2022, with Mazu joined by last year’s Everest runner-up Private Eye (Al Maher), who raced in Inglis’s slot; and Overpass (Vancouver), who finished sixth for James Kennedy.
Both horses are once again chasing an Everest berth this year, with Jamie Walter, principal of Proven Thoroughbreds who own Private Eye; and Scott Darby of Darby Racing, who race the Bjorn Baker-trained Overpass, both confirming to ANZ Bloodstock News that initial discussions had taken place with slot holders for a place in the race.
Walter’s Proven Thoroughbreds will already be represented by their seven-race unbeaten dual Group 1 winner Think About It, and the prominent syndicator said the Joe Pride-trained Private Eye has returned in good order this preparation after disappointing with a below-par effort in the Victory Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) in Brisbane.
The six-year-old, who won the Nature Strip Stakes (1300m) after his Everest runner-up performance last spring, posted a second-placed finish in a trial at Randwick on Friday, splitting King Of Sparta (I Am Invincible) and Alcohol Free.
“We’re very happy with him,” Walter told ANZ Bloodstock News. “Things didn’t go his way in the autumn, he ran very well in the Newmarket, but then got skittled on a heavy track in the TJ Smith Stakes.
“We took him to Brisbane and he was genuinely disappointing, but we found just a little bit of wear and tear in one knee, so we pulled up with him, which I think was a smart move, and fingers crossed, he comes back to doing what he was capable of last spring.
“We’ve only had very preliminary conversations [with slot holders]. What has become apparent to me, with this concept of slot holder races still so young, is that slot holders are now believing they’re better off waiting as long as they conceivably can to see how horses are performing close to the race.”
Think About It, who during a stellar preparation during the autumn and Brisbane winter claimed the Kingsford Smith Cup (Gr 1, 1300m) and Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m), returns this spring with a trial outing today at Warwick Farm in heat three over 800 metres.
“His first trial back will be in the morning and he’ll have another trial before the Premiere Stakes [on September 30],” Walter said.
“We’re very happy with him. He’s an extremely exciting horse, he just keeps winning. The risk with him is whether these sprinters at the absolute highest level are a little bit sharp for him over 1200 metres. He’ll seriously know he’s in a race.”
After a battling victory in the inaugural running of The Quokka (1200m) at Ascot and a meritorious second-placed finish in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1200m) in May, the well-travelled Overpass returns for Baker and Darby Racing in Saturday’s The Shorts.
The five-year-old posted a dominant trial win at Rosehill on September 5 leading into the weekend’s contest.
“He’s terrific, we couldn’t be happier with him,” Scott Darby told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The team thinks he’s certainly come on again and we’re very happy with his trials and track and it’s all systems go for Saturday. We expect him to run really well. He’s going to get a nice, dry track, which he loves, and we’ve certainly figured him out over the last 12 months that he’s lethal first and second-up.
“He’s being prepared for a grand final on Everest day, whether that’s The Everest or the Sydney Stakes, we’ll find out.
“There’s been a bit of chat here and there [with slot holders], but I think everyone is waiting for The Shorts, it looks like being pretty much a win-and-you’re-in type of race for The Everest.”