Wet track conundrum taken out of hands of Wild Ruler’s connections
Group 1-winning sprinter to put Randwick record to the test in The Everest
The prospect of a wet track will not deter slot holder Yulong from attempting to achieve Everest (1200m) glory for a second time in the $15 million race’s five-year history despite its chosen contender being noted dry-track sprinter Wild Ruler (Snitzel).
Yulong and Wild Ruler’s managing owner Henry Field of Newgate Farm struck a deal to run in The Everest less than 24 hours after the four-year-old entire won the A J Moir Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Moonee Valley but the studmaster provided a caveat that he would not run if the track was wet.
Sam Fairgray, Yulong’s chief operating officer, yesterday admitted that he and Field were unaware of a rule that prevented connections from scratching from The Everest for any reason other than the horse having a veterinary issue.
The revelation immediately put to bed any talk of skipping the race and instead heading back to Moonee Valley for Friday’s Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) with Wild Ruler, who will head to stud next year.
“We’ve seen it before where horses have wanted to be withdrawn and so forth because conditions weren’t to suit, but if a horse is right on the day they will overcome those little differences,” Fairgray said.
“I guess a race like the Cox Plate is similar where you can’t withdraw it because of the state of the track. He’ll take his spot. There’s going to be plenty of pace on, so the way he likes to settle just off the speed, hopefully the race sets up nicely for him.”
Randwick was rated a Heavy 8 late yesterday with bookmakers offering odds of $34 about the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Wild Ruler who has won six of his 13 starts with just three unplaced runs, two of them coming on rain-affected surfaces.
At Randwick, his home course, Wild Ruler has had five starts for four wins with his only defeat being a first-up second to Everest favourite Nature Strip (Nicconi) in the Concorde Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) on September 4.
The Concorde performance caught Fairgray’s attention but negotiations between Yulong and Field heated up once Wild Ruler won the Moir, his first victory at Group 1 level.
Moir runner-up The Inferno (Holy Roman Emperor) was also selected by the James Harron Bloodstock syndicate after his closing effort.
“I thought it was a very good win at The Valley. I think The Inferno had the momentum to go actually past him at The Valley but Wild Ruler was very, very strong through the line,” said Fairgray.
“They will probably be wanting to get off the fence and into the middle of the track and hopefully it will be better ground out there (from barrier 11) and he can reel them in.”
Yulong has been a slot holder in The Everest since its inception in 2017 and after three-year-old filly She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain) finished second last in year one, the Yuesheng Zhang-owned breeding and racing empire won the race the following year courtesy of Redzel (Snitzel) who was also victorious in the inaugural running.
In the past two years Redzel (eighth) and Tofane (Ocean Park) (ninth) have been Yulong’s Everest runners.
While Wild Ruler is a certain starter at Randwick, Yulong’s Group 1 winner Hungry Heart (Frankel) is not.
The four-year-old Chris Waller-trained Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner, who ran eighth in the Epsom Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) last start, could be scratched from today’s Yulong-sponsored Craven Plate (Gr 3, 2000m).
“It will all depend on the track on whether Chris runs her or not. I think he’ll wait for (this morning) to decide,” Fairgray said.
“There’s other options like the Golden Eagle or coming to Melbourne for the Empire Rose (on Derby Day).”