Joliestar a possible Everest contender
Untapped filly Joliestar (Zoustar) has emerged as a contender for The Everest (1200m) with her trainer Chris Waller revealing he is keen to give the mare an opportunity to audition for the $20 million feature.
The Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner was among a host of stars to step out at the Rosehill barrier trials on Tuesday, the session also featured leading carnival contenders Fangirl (Sebring), Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock), Riff Rocket (American Pharoah), Tropical Squall (Prized Icon) and Zougotcha (Zoustar).
Joliestar took up the running in her 900-metre heat and was kept under a good hold by James McDonald to edge out the promising Caballus (I Am Invincible) by a half-length.
She is likely to have another trial before resuming in the early part of the spring and while she is a Group 1 winner over a mile, Waller believes her victory in the Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (Gr 2, 1200m) during the autumn shows another string to her bow.
“Of our horses, she could be in the Everest picture,” Waller said. “We gave her such a soft autumn, she had one run, and we chose not to go to Queensland because it would have interrupted the spring, so we’ve got a horse with plenty of carrots.”
Waller tried a similar tactic with another daughter of Zoustar (Northern Meteor) 12 months ago and while that Everest experiment with Zougotcha backfired, he said Joliestar was a different style of horse.
“We made the mistake with Zougotcha last year of trying to make her sprint, but I think Joliestar is probably a little bit sharper,” he said.
“We might give her a chance to sprint and decide after that first-up run which way we’re heading.”
Stablemate Via Sistina was given an easy time in her 1000-metre heat but stretched out nicely over the final stages to finish fifth to Williamsburg (Snitzel), while Fangirl also found the line well under her own steam when sixth to Tropical Squall.