Australia: Think About It tests eight-race win streak in rich Everest Stakes

This has been a perfect year for the Australian gelding Think About It, who is rated among the leading hopes for the world’s richest sprint, the $12.8 million Everest Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Friday evening.

Think About It is unbeaten in eight races in 2023, starting with a minor handicap in January and rising in class levels to include consecutive Group 1 races in May and June. When Think About It won the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at six furlongs on Sept. 30 at Randwick in his first start in nearly four months, the 5-year-old gelding enhanced his reputation as a leading contender for the six-furlong Everest.

The field has changed in recent weeks, with the defection of Giga Kick, who won the 2022 Everest. With Giga Kick sidelined because of a minor injury, Think About It, I Wish I Win, and Private Eye are the three leading contenders in a full field of 12 in the Everest.

They all run from slightly off the pace and are likely to be in pursuit of the talented 4-year-old Overpass, who was second to Private Eye in the Group 2 The Shorts Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on Sept. 16, losing by slightly more than a head.

Think About It has an advantageous draw in post 5 and will be ridden by Sam Clipperton, who has been aboard for all eight wins this year. As a stalker, Think About It has every chance to gain a favorable position in the opening quarter-mile.

The first few furlongs could be tricky for expected favorite I Wish I Win, who breaks from the inside. I Wish I Win runs from off the pace, which leaves jockey Luke Nolen with the responsibility of avoiding trouble.

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Nolen knows how to maneuver I Wish I Win through big fields. Last October, I Wish I Win won the richest race of his career in the $6.48 million Golden Eagle Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs for Southern Hemisphere 4-year-olds, beating 19 rivals. The Golden Eagle is Australia’s second-richest race behind the Everest.

Earlier this year, I Wish I Win won the most prestigious race of his career in the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick, closing from last of 13 to win by a half-length over Giga Kick.

In his only subsequent start, I Wish I Win finished third in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes at seven furlongs on Sept. 2 at Caulfield Racecourse, losing by a half-length to top Australian miler Mr Brightside.

Private Eye, who ended a four-race losing streak with the win on Sept. 16, was second in the 2022 Everest Stakes. Mazu, third in the 2022 Everest Stakes, is rated as a longshot this year. He was ninth in the Shorts Stakes in his last start.

The Everest, which is not a group-level race, was first run in 2017 and has a subscription format in which owners acquire berths and later nominate horses. This is the richest running of the Everest Stakes. The race was worth $9.3 million last year.

The Everest is part of a 10-race program that begins at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Mr Brightside starts in the second-richest race of the Everest program, the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes, which was formerly known as the George Main Stakes.

The $3.21 million King Charles III Stakes drew a field of 16. Mr Brightside has won his last five starts. After the Memsie Stakes, Mr Brightside won Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes at a mile as an odds-on favorite on Sept. 16 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.

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