Proven wet tracker Shoals has replaced Redzel as favourite for the $13m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick today.
Shoals, above, is the new out right favourite for The Everest 2018 at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
The twelve horse field for The Everest is littered with mud runners but the race morning money has come for the Anthony Freedman trained Shoals who has firmed in from $7.50 to be the new $5.50 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au while Redzel has lost his spot at the top of the market and is now the second pick at $7.50.
The Randwick track has been rated a Heavy 9 on Saturday morning after receiving 66.4mm of rain in the past seven days with the rail in the true position for the entire course.
Shoals is undefeated from three runs on rain affected tracks with two of her three Group 1 wins being on a soft rated surface in the Group 1 $500,000 James Boag’s Premium Surround Stakes (1400m) at Randwick during the 2018 Sydney Autumn Carnival and in the Group 1 $1m Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville in May.
The three times Group 1 winner is also a winner on a heavy track over the Randwick 1200m course when she took out the Group 2 $600,000 Percy Sykes Stakes as a two year old during the 2017 Autumn Carnival.
Redzel is also a proven wet tracker with one win on the soft and two wins and three placings from six starts on a heavy track and will also be right at home in today’s conditions.
“She (Shoals) is very good in it,” Freedman told Sky Racing’s Racing HQ Saturday.
“She will have no issues with the track there today.”
“She is very good at anything from 1200m to a mile. She has been trained for this race.”
“I thought her Sangster win was probably her best win so you are thinking that 1200m is certainly one of her best trips.”
Freedman will also saddle up Santa Ana Lane who is marked at $9 for The Everest and is also a triple Group 1 winner and although the six year old has winning wet track form, Freedman is not convinced that he is at home in the heavy.
“He has some heavy form and he has also had a failure on the heavy so I am just not completely convinced with him. We will see how the track races,” Freedman said.
“Today from this draw he will be in the second half of the race most of the way.”
Santa Ana Lane and Shoals clashes in their final lead up run to The Everest when there was only a head between them when they ran the quinella in the Group 2 $500,000 Santos Coffee Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick a fortnight ago.
Freedman said that both his Everest runners have progressed nicely since the Premiere Stakes and he can see luck in running playing a major part in the final result today.
“Look back two weeks there wasn’t much between them,” Freedman said.
“They have had a good couple of weeks, they have picked up from that last run and I couldn’t be happier with them going into it.”
“I think it will come down to luck in running, there are a lot of chances in the race.”
“We are lucky to have two there. We are probably two of six or seven who could win the race.”
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