Strip ‘still the one’ to scale Everest
For three decades from 1978, the Nine Network used the slogan “Still The One” to promote both its perceived and genuine dominance in the Australian broadcast market, especially after the emergence of cable television in the mid 1990s.
Their ads, backed by the Orleans song of the same name, featured many of their personalities espousing the value of the network (including a memorable cameo from John Tapp in their bicentennial ad in 1988, calling sports commentators like Richie Benaud and Ian Chappell jumping from a Ray Warren and Max Walker-piloted, Alan Bond-owned blimp).
The ads continued even for a short period after they had ceded ground to the Seven Network in the mid-2000s, the campaign still evoking memories of the channel at its best even when it had lost some of that lustre.
Perhaps the same can be said of Nature Strip (Nicconi), the reigning Australian Horse of the Year who enters the world’s richest race on turf, today’s $15 million The Everest (1200m), as the horse to beat – if the Nature Strip that won that title shows up.
The Chris Waller-trained sprinter enters his grand final having had a far-from-ideal preparation, although when putting all the puzzle pieces together, it may not have been as bad as it seems.
Beaten first-up in the Concorde Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m)? He didn’t win at either of his first-up runs during his Horse of the Year season. No problem.
Throwing rider James McDonald at the jump in a barrier trial? Clearly a freak accident. It was something he’d never looked like doing before and he may never do it again either.
Beaten again and disappointing in the Premiere Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m)? McDonald seemed to be cautious aboard the speedster at the start and, perhaps due to that caution, he was slightly slow to muster. That forced him to do plenty of work before then being able to cross Standout (Exceed And Excel), with that effort showing late.
In a spring where so much has gone wrong, though, all that is needed is for something to go right for Nature Strip to figure.
Nature Strip backers will likely know their fate at the start. The six-year-old can’t afford to be slow to muster once again, particularly from gate five with the race likely to develop around him if he is tardy.
With $15 million on the line, expect McDonald to be aggressive from the gates, using the horse’s natural speed to ensure he doesn’t have to work hard to get into that front-running role.
The query then is what happens with Eduardo (Host), another horse with natural speed although one who probably isn’t as quick as Nature Strip.
Rachel King will have one of the toughest roles of any rider in the race: ensuring Eduardo doesn’t jeopardise his own chances by getting into a speed duel with Nature Strip, but also making sure the Joe Pride-trained chestnut doesn’t gift the race to the champion sprinter by allowing him to dictate on his own terms.
If the real Nature Strip doesn’t turn up, or even if he does but finds circumstances against him, there are a host of horses who could join Redzel (Snitzel) and Yes Yes Yes (Rubick) as an Everest winner.
Gytrash (Lope De Vega) flies fresh and has been intentionally prepared with that in mind. He has only raced once this spring, producing a mammoth effort to defeat Nature Strip comfortably in the Concorde Stakes.
His fellow South Australian Behemoth (All Too Hard) has always looked like a Group 1 winner in the making and he has finally put it all together this spring, winning the Spring Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), the Memsie Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) impressively.
The form from the Memsie, in particular, looks solid with a subsequent Toorak Handicap (Gr 1, 1600m) winner in Mr Quickie (Shamus Award), a Bill Stutt Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) victor in Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock) and a Stocks Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) heroine in Mystic Journey (Needs Further) in behind, while his effort to carry 60 kilograms in victory in the Sir Rupert Clarke cannot be understated.
He’s the dark horse of the race and perhaps the one best suited to being able to upset Nature Strip.
Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) has been described by Les Bridge as “the best horse I’ve trained” – even better than the mighty Luskin Star (Kaoru Star) – and will jump as favourite after his big victory in The Shorts (Gr 2, 1100m) before his second last time out.
Libertini was in a unique position last time out as she needed to win the Premiere Stakes to put her case forward for a slot, whereas Classique Legend and Nature Strip were not under the same pressure.
Nevertheless, it was a tremendous win and she must be respected, because a repeat performance will see her right in the mix.
Godolphin pair Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) and Trekking (Street Cry) are flying under the radar to some degree, but both produced strong first-up performances and they both have form on the board. If anything, there is a slight leaning to Bivouac, but it is far more competitive than the two-horse race touted by his rider Glen Boss.
Veteran Santa Ana Lane (Lope De Vega) lines up in his third straight Everest, having finished sixth in 2018 before rattling home for second last year. Expect him to be flashing home again but it is hard to see him scoring.
Tofane (Ocean Park) has had no luck in two starts this spring and looks to have more to come. She’s the one to keep safe, sporting the Yulong colours.
Haut Brion Her (Zoustar) and Dollar For Dollar (High Chaparral) were only confirmed at the last minute.
Haut Brion Her should be able to bounce back after a severe regression second-up, which followed a very tough win in the Sheraco Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m). Whether she can win is another matter entirely, but expect her to outperform her odds.
As for Dollar For Dollar, this does appear too rich but he’s another who is flying. A top-five finish would be a tremendous result.
And so, after months of speculation about who would line up in the feature, after weeks of wheeling and dealing, the quick ascent to the Everest summit takes place at 4:15pm today.
Seventy seconds. $15 million. One winner.