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| Dane Squance |
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Any concerns about Nature Strip’s barrier draw are wide of the mark if you ask James McDonald and Chris Waller as the TAB Everest champion aims to defend his title at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Nature Strip drew the outside in the 12 horse field but both champion jockey and trainer are quick to highlight the gelding won the $15m sprint last year from gate 10 and the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes in the autumn from barrier 11.
The world’s best sprinter strode out comfortably under McDonald down the Rosehill straight on Thursday morning and attention turned quickly to whether that barrier could prevent back-to-back wins in the $15m TAB Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick.
“I was quite pleased with it actually,’’ McDonald said.
“With Randwick the way it’s been playing, and being very wet, I don’t think the barrier is going to be too much of an issue for us. I’m yet to speak to Chris about it but from my point of view I think it’s okay.
“He just enjoys that sort of space. I think the gate has given me a little bit more (confidence) and I think he will do his thing.”
Waller is just as unperturbed by breaking from the outside alley and he went as far as to say it is an advantage.
He said when a horse like Nature Strip draws the inside, given he can be a touch slowly away, it can put him on the back foot and risks having to be pushed to hold a forward position.
An inside gate didn’t worry him when he won the Group 2 Shorts (1100m) a month ago on his return from his runaway Royal Ascot win but the Everest is a different challenge.
“Nature Strip likes to get into his own rhythm and while there is a little bit of extra ground to cover he can do it as he likes,’’ Waller said.
“When you draw on the outside you’ve got nothing to your outside, you’ve only got those to your inside and you can come across when you’re ready at the pace you want to.
“You’ve got to respect the distance, it might sound short 1200m but it’s still a long way so getting the horse into a good rhythm and making sure you’re doing things right is most important.
“So barrier 12 allows that. He drew similar last year and he won the TJ in the autumn from a wide gate.”
On Saturday, Nature Strip will become the first horse to contest four TAB Everests.
It could have been five had he not been ruled out in 2018 following a poor performance. In 2019 he finished seventh behind Yes Yes Yes, in 2020 he improved to fourth behind Classique Legend before becoming ‘king of the mountain’ last year.
McDonald said the eight-year-old probably can’t get any better and rides him with supreme confidence given he knows the horse is going to do everything right in the run – something he wasn’t doing around his first Everest.
“He’s been so consistent the past year and that’s why he’s got such a great record now,’’ he said.
“He’s doing things well, he conserves so much energy out on the track now. He’s not ripping and tearing, he’s just so smooth so he’s in a really good spot.
“His last two seasons, three seasons even, have been unbelievable. He’s turned the corner and consistency has been the main thing.
“Every time he’s gone out if he’s been beaten it’s by a very small margin and he’s been winning more times than he’s not. He’s holding his form so well, he’s a very happy horse and his movement is unbelievable.
“I don’t know what they are doing but as long as they keep it there the next couple of days I’m sure he’ll be fighting out the finish and be very hard to beat.”
Nature Strip has had a stranglehold on TAB Everest favouritism for most of the year and was $2.25 with TAB on Thursday.
Waller, even in the Winx era, has never been one to underestimate his opposition and says there are still 11 horses for Nature Strip to beat.
A horse that was doing the rounds on the Rosehill polytrack while Waller was talking is the one he seems most wary of come 4.15pm on Saturday – the Golden Rose winner.
“Jacquinot, who won the Golden Rose here at Rosehill, is an exciting factor because he gets a weight allowance for being a three-year-old,’’ he said.
“He gets 5kg from Nature Strip and the way he won the Golden Rose was pretty special.
“Obviously it’s an intriguing race with young horses running in the race, new horses, horses that have been there the last few years. It’s what makes the Everest a great race.
“If Nature Strip is not on his game then Eduardo is the benchmark, he’s beaten Nature Strip, and there’s other horses there ready to pounce.
“We’ve seen with Nature Strip he’s a mature horse and reaching his peak now so who’s to say some of these other horses like your Lost And Runnings can’t go to a whole new level.”
We’ll give the last word to McDonald. It’s not commonplace for him to get on Nature Strip’s back on a Thursday morning – his fast work is on Tuesdays – and he said the horse is “ready to explode”.
“He’s feeling unbelievable, he’s in a real purple patch of form. If it’s anything to go by, how he’s stretching out, he’s really in the zone,’’ he said.
“He’s going to have to be on his game there’s no doubt about it but I think he will be.”
Copy: Racing nSW