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The buzz around Everest continues to build year-on-year, and the sixth running of the race is all about the Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip who is chasing back-to-back wins in sprinting showcase.
Former top jockey and Sky Racing analyst Libby Hopwood told the Daily Mail Australia it will be tough to beat the red-hot favourite.
'To do that, somebody needs to take him on, so it's a tactically really interesting race because he is so big and strong, they're going to have to make him work,' she said.
'People are going to try to shake things up. There might be a tearaway leader trying to hold onto things because if you're just going out there to just run a normal sprint race, you're not going to beat him.'
Hopwood said the eight-year-old gelding is improving with his advanced age rather than deteriorating.
'He's big and arrogant and doing all the wrong things, but he's so talented. But he's matured into himself and got a few flags under his belt, and he now knows how to rock up to the grand final.'
The stunning $320,000 Everest trophy, which contains 7,777 individual black diamonds and 230 cut brilliantly cut white diamonds is waiting to be flaunted by the hero.
There are 11 other runners aside from the heavy favourite, and here's the Daily Mail Australia's runner-by-runner guide to The Everest 2022.
1 - Nature Strip (Barrier 12)
Jockey: James McDonald (58.5kg). Trainer: Chris Waller.
The raging-hot favourite won last year's Everest and is in even better form in a weaker field this time around - with Australia's top jockey onboard. He loves wet ground. 'J-Mac' will look to sit wide outside of the leader for the majority of the race, and it'll take something very special to beat him.
2 - Eduardo (Barrier 9)
Jockey: Nash Rawiller (58.5kg). Trainer: Joe Pride.
The oldest horse in the field, and also the only one to have beaten Nature Strip. The nine-year-old will relish the soft track. Not many nine-year-old horses win elite races but he looked very sharp when winning a barrier trial at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, and Joe Pride has him peaking at just the right time
3 - Kementari (Barrier 7)
Jockey: Hugh Bowman (58.5kg). Trainer: James Cummings.
After the stunning scratching on race morning of the second favourite Lost and Running, Godolphin runner Kemetari will run from barrier 7.
4 - Masked Crusader (Barrier 10)
Jockey: William Pike (58.5kg). Trainer: M, J and W Hawkes.
The drying track should provide the ideal soft surface. Far from impressive throughout the autumn, but finished hard to get within half a length of Lost and Running in the Premiere Stakes a fortnight ago.
5 - Mazu (Barrier 11)
Jockey: Sam Clipperton (58.5kg). Trainer: Peter and Paul Snowden.
He was the best three-year-old in the country last season, including a stunning Group 1 win in the Doomben 10,000. From a wide gate, the Snowden-trainer runner will have a task to win, but his form versus Lost and Running and Masked Crusader’s last start shows he is up to their standard at the least.
6 - Private Eye (Barrier 3)
Jockey: Brenton Avdulla (58.5kg). Trainer: Joe Pride.
Private Eye's main ace for The Everest is the fact Brenton Avdulla, a proven big-race specialist, is onboard. He won at a heavy weight (60kg) in the Gilgai at Flemington last week to book his spot in the race, but despite his impressive toughness, lacks the speed some of the other runners have.
7 - Overpass (Barrier 6)
Jockey: Rachel King (58.5kg). Trainer: Bjorn Baker.
Piloted by the first-ever female jockey in the race, Overpass is another aided by the drying of the track, as he's a duffer on heavy surfaces. Has beaten Anamoe, and gave Nature Strip a run for his money in The Shorts, but the sprinter has never won in six attempts at Randwick.
8 - Ingratiating (Barrier 4)
Jockey: Glyn Schofield (58.5kg). Trainer: James Cummings.
Secured his spot as the Godolphin stable's runner with an impressive second in the Schillaci Stakes last weekend, he can handle the wet track but has nowhere near the class of the rest of this field
9 - Joyful Fortune (Barrier 1)
Jockey: Tom Sherry (58.5kg). Trainer: Mark Newnham.
Ex-Hong Kong galloper Joyful Fortune has only raced once in Australia
and is the most un-tapped horse in this field given the six-year-old has just eight race starts for three wins. He has been impressive in two trials before his first race starts Down Under.
10 - Shades of Rose (Barrier 8)
Jockey: Kerrin McEvoy (56.6kg). Trainer: Bjorn Baker.
The talented four-year-old mare boasts an extraordinary career record of seven wins from just nine starts and is expected to showcase a lovely run from McEvoy who has won three of the five previous Everests. Big odds place chance.
11 - Jacquinot (Barrier 2)
Jockey: Damian Lane (53kg). Trainer: Mick Price and Michael Kent.
The most intriguing runner in the race. The lightning-fast three-year-old colt made the racing community sit up and take notice when storming home down the outside from well-back, a la Chautauqua, in the Golden Rose last month.
12 - Giga Kick (Barrier 5)
Jockey: Craig Williams (53kg). Trainer: Clayton Douglas.
The second of the three-year-olds in the race, the gelding has had just four race starts and is unbeaten. Legendary hoop Craig Williams loves the potential and toughness of Giga Kick. 'If you are ever going to go to war, you would like him on your side because he loves to compete and loves to have his nose in front,' Williams told Racing.com earlier this month.