Newcastle trainer Kris Lees is confident that the timing is right for his superstar mare In Her Time, a daughter of Cape-based stallion TimeThief , when she resumes in the A$14 million The Everest over on Saturday
REDZEL (SNITZEL – MILLRICH) ridden by jockey Kerrin MCevoy wins the TAB The Everest at Royal Randwick. 13 October 2018. Photo credit Darren Tindale / The Image is Everything.
In Her Time has notched both of her Gr1 wins (The Galaxy (1100m) and the 2019 Lightning Stakes (1000m)) when first up from a spell, and Lees intimated his confidence in her preparation this time around.
“The best thing for her was to get the slot early, so we could just get the preparation right with her,” he said, unworried about missing the Gr2 The Shorts (1100m) last month.
“She is a big strong mare now and we have been focused on having her right for one day…I think we have her where she was before the Lightning in the autumn and that’s a good place to be. She has been up with the best sprinters for a while now. She is going to run a big race on Saturday again.”
Racing New South Wales will suspend betting on The Everest two hours before the announcement of the barrier draw for the race on the pillars of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Tuesday night.
Chief executive Peter V’landys said the draw was made at Racing NSW offices at 5pm on Tuesday, Sydney time (8am SA time), so the choreographed display can be loaded and revealed later that night.
“Punters have been betting on the race for months and they know the final field now,” V’landys said.
“Betting will be down for a couple of hours for integrity reasons, but as soon as the draw is revealed bookies can reopen betting. It is the same process we used last year.”
V’landys said the draw reveal on the Harbour Bridge will be a one-off as it was on the Sydney Opera House a year ago.
“There are so many great places in Sydney that would make a spectacular backdrop for The Everest barrier draw, we will move it again next year,” he said. “This race is innovative and fresh, and we want to keep it that way. It’s why we have done barrier draws at places that haven’t been used before.”
The Everest Field:
- REDZEL – Kerrin McEvoy
- PIERATA – Tommy Berry
- SANTA ANA LANE – Mark Zahra
- TREKKING – J Parr
- NATURE STRIP – Tim Clark
- TEN SOVEREIGNS – TBA
- CLASSIQUE LEGEND – Nash Rawiller
- IN HER TIME – Brenton Avdulla
- ALIZEE – Hugh Bowman
- SUNLIGHT – Luke Currie
- ARCADIA QUEEN – James McDonald
- YES YES YES – Glen Boss
