Nature Strip at his peak for Everest Stakes title defense

Nature Strip’s three-race winning streak in Australia and England has made the Australian sprinter into a worldwide star.

Nature Strip was already a 16-time stakes winner when he was shipped to England earlier this year for his first start outside of Australia. Nature Strip won the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at five furlongs by a smashing 4 1/2 lengths at Royal Ascot. Sandwiched around that victory were a Group 1 win in Australia in April and a Group 2 win there in September.

Nature Strip is a heavy favorite to win the $9.3 million Everest Stakes at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Friday for the second consecutive year. The Everest Stakes is the world’s richest sprint.

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The Australian Horse of the Year for the 2019-20 season, Nature Strip was 6-5 in a field of 12 in early betting as of Wednesday. If he wins, Nature Strip will have earned the victory. The 8-year-old drew the outside post, which will force jockey James McDonald to use the gelding’s tactical speed to save ground.

Trained by Chris Waller, Nature Strip will have his fourth start in the Everest. He was fourth in 2019 and seventh in 2020 before winning by a head over Masked Crusader last year.

Masked Crusader has struggled since that loss, with his best finish in six subsequent starts a third.

Eduardo, third in the 2021 Everest and 9-1 as of Wednesday for this year’s race, has won 2 of 5 starts this year, with the wins coming in Group 2 and Group 3 sprints. A 9-year-old gelding, Eduardo was fourth behind Nature Strip, beaten 1 1/4 lengths, in the Group 2 The Shorts Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Randwick on Sept. 17. Eduardo, who set the pace in The Shorts, is expected to be prominent early in the Everest.

Lost and Running (7-1 in early betting) is a threat as a stalker. Lost and Running was third by 1 1/4 lengths in The Shorts Stakes, and rebounded to win the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at six furlongs at Randwick on Oct. 1.

The Everest is the seventh race on a 10-race program that begins at 9:30 p.m. Eastern or 6:30 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

Caulfield Cup

Smokin’ Romans starts in the most important race of his career in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne on Friday.

Not only is the $3.1 million Caulfield Cup the richest race in the career of Smokin’ Romans, but the winner receives a berth in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Nov. 1. The Melbourne Cup will have a 24-horse field. As of earlier this week, Smokin’ Romans was ranked 26th on the list of candidates.

Trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Smokin’ Romans was 4-1 as of Wednesday for the Caulfield Cup, which drew a full field of 18. Benaud (8-1) and Gold Trip (12-1) were next in the betting.

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