‘He's A Champion Regardless. So That Hasn't Changed.’ Co-Owner Peter Kean On Nature Strip

This is legendary stuff all right, in the most intensely concentrated sense of the word.

The only horse ever to win an Everest and a King Stand Stakes, Nature Strip is something truly remarkable; doing it in front of a wild crowd, carrying the weight of Australian Dollars from around the world, was something else entirely. Starting from a wide gate, Nature Strip began as the shortest-priced favourite in the Everest’s short history but Giga Kick denied the wonder horse to win the A$15 million 2022 Everest at Randwick.

Going for back-to-back wins in the world’s richest race on turf, Nature Strip couldn’t match Giga Kick in the dying stages before finishing fourth in a result no one saw coming. Private Eye was momentarily hailed the winner before finishing second with Mazu taking the minor placing - just ahead of Nature Strip.

“He jumped very well but he had drawn the widest gate, number 12. So that can either work as an advantage or a disadvantage. And in this case, it was a disadvantage.

“The ground and the going out was trickier. The going was better inside because the track had been moved out a bit to account for that.

“And so I understand that he probably covered about nine or 10 meters more than most of the others in the race because of coming across and therefore, he got left a bit on his own.

“He showed his normal kick, but in the last 25 meters, the other horses had the better run,” said co-owner Peter Kean as he looks back on Nature Strip’s last start.

The overhauling of Nature Strip, after his trials and tribulations during the feature, in the last gasps of the most significant yardage in racing reflected his status as the ultimate champion.

“Certainly, we congratulate the first, second, and third horses, they deserved their position on the day, and albeit we were a bit disappointed. But we know he'll come again. He's a champion regardless. So that hasn't changed,” said Kean. 

When reflecting on a racing career that retains a living, breathing presence beyond the record books, undeniably there is an acknowledgement of gratitude for the benevolent interventions of the gods of racing fortune that maintained the career of this 8YO long enough for the star to be delivered. The Australian Racehorse of the Year (2019/20), (2021/22) and the Australian Sprinter of the Year (2019/20), (2020/21), (2021/22) counts his significant wins as The Everest (2021), King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot (2022), TJ Smith Stakes (2020, 2021, 2022), Black Caviar Lightning (2021), Concorde Stakes (2021), The Shorts (2022), McEwen Stakes (2018), Rubiton Stakes (2019), The Galaxy (2019), Moir Stakes (2019), Darley Sprint Classic (2019, 2021) and the Challenge Stakes (2020).

It's not about the big things, the ones that sell biographies, but more about the cupped hands of fate that will shape his return to the Everest field from Spring to Spring. A second Everest win will catapult Nature Strip’s racetrack earnings from A$19 million bringing him within sight of Winx’s remarkable earnings record of A$26.45 million.

As legendary trainer Jonjo O'Neill said in an interview with Racing Post, "I was the youngest of four and I remember all my father said to us was 'do what you enjoy doing because if you enjoy it you'll put in that bit extra, and if you don't put in that bit extra you'll never be better than run of the mill'.”

Peter Kean and the owners, together with leading trainer Chris Waller are intent on making sure Nature Strip is able to go that extra mile, in a spectacular career he has thoroughly enjoyed.

“He has got two options. And that will be the Nature Strip Stakes on the 29th of October at Randwick or the Darley Sprint at Flemington on the fifth of November,” said Kean looking ahead. “One is 1300 at Randwick, and the other is 1200 at Flemington.”

“We've won the Darley Sprint twice. Black Caviar’s won it twice as well. I don't think any horse has won it three times. So, these are good options.”

Nature Strip’s fairytale career has some way to go for the purpose of making a legend. Being a lightly raced entire is sometimes both a blessing and a curse.  

“It all depends on the horse. Now he's eight and lightly raced. He only had six races this year. And I think in his career, he’s only had 40 races. So, he's very lightly raced for a thoroughbred.

“After the next race this year, he will be spelled and then we will probably aim to come back in February next year.

“We wouldn't disregard Ascot or the Everest again, but it'll all depend on how he goes. He's big. He's strong. He's fresh and he's wiser as he gets older,” said Kean. “So, you never know if he could have another year.”

Once the race was done, the owners retired to the plush dining room of a Sydney bar. Celebratory cheers and stories of the 2022 Everest race night would have begun to trip off the owners’ tongues. Many stories would probably have been highlighted by cliffhanging drama, always offset by the secure knowledge that it all ended well and an assuredness about their sprinter that comes with long-lived success.

“The day was fantastic. I guess we went a bit flat for a while after the race, because in one minute we had the race, and then in the next minute we didn't. Our emotions were high, but we all know that this is racing - you can't win them all...

“We hired out just a small bar in Sydney. And we all met afterward for a few drinks, a meal, and a lot of laughs. Now we're just looking ahead.

“We made sure that we congratulate the winners, the Giga Kick owners. They thoroughly deserve the pride of a place after winning the Everest.

“But if I had to compare, I think we had more ‘fun’ at Royal Ascot, probably because we won,” said Kean recalling the spectacular Kings Stand Stakes win. “It was just so special with 300 years of history at that place.

“But there's nothing taking away the Everest. I mean, you look around Randwick and there's nearly 50,000 there.

“There was so much support when Nature Strip was on the track. It made it a bit hard for us when he didn't win because there was so much support for him,” he said.

The 8YO seems a long way off from retirement at this point. He's just raring to go again and again although connections, in the interest of his health, plan to settle him down for a bit of a rest after the next race.

One more Everest win from Nature Strip would crown a sensational career, having built a long and distinguished one starting with a few unsuccessful early years, but Peter Kean knows it's the long haul that counts, for racehorses and owners.