Three potential Everest runners put their hopes on the line on Saturday.

With just five weeks until the 2023 running of The Everest, the race to gain a slot hotted up on Saturday.

The Everest is a contest that betting companies have in the books way in advance as punters love an early tilt. As we get closer to the October 14 contest, the field is yet to be finalised, and on Saturday, there were races at Moonee Valley and Rosehill that saw potential Everest types in action. 

For a relatively new contest, The Everest has already got itself a considerable reputation as the top sprint race in the world. It is a race that is talked about well in advance, and on Saturday afternoon, there were sprints that could impact the field for the 2023 race. The prices from the horse racing bookmakers are changing week by week as the contenders make their plays. 

Giga Kick

The 2022 Everest winner was back in action at Moonee Valley, finishing third in the McEwen Stakes over 1000m. Craig Williams quickly blamed himself for the horse being beaten after he missed the break and then moved too soon. 

Whatever the case was, it was not the same Giga Kick that we saw at Randwick last October when he showed such class and tenacity to run the field down late on. More than two and a half lengths behind Imperatriz, who is doubtful for the race, it leaves a lot to be worked on.

Connections are not going to have wanted their star sprinter to be 100% heading into Saturday’s race in any case, so leaving something to work on for the next five weeks is wise. To be fair to the winner, she set a new track record, so when the dust settles, this might not look like the defeat it currently does.

Sunshine In Paris

One of the most impressive winners on the Rosehill card was Annabel Neasham’s Sunshine In Paris. On just her fifth career start, the mare picked up down the outside of the field to swamp them in the final 100m to run out an easy winner of the Group 2 Sheraco Stakes.

That was only against her own sex, but it was a brutally efficient performance by a mare on the way up. It was the manner of the win that caught the eye. In a smart and competitive-looking field, she dented several reputations and did it with seemingly any amount in hand. 

She closed out her autumn campaign with a win in the Group 1 Surround at Randwick over 1400m, so she has course form. The harder they go in an Everest, the better she will like it.

Cylinder

The time of the Group 2 Run To The Rose won by Cylinder was almost a second slower than that of Sunshine In Paris over the same 1200m at Rosehill earlier in the afternoon. The mare carried half a kilo more, but that would only tell half the story. 

This was a messy contest, with the winner looking to have nowhere to go until a gap finally appeared late for him to sneak through and get his head in front right on the line. The winning margin was 0.17l, with the first six home covered by 0.78l, but Cylinder’s beating of his rivals far outstripped that. 

It might be that the three-year-old is kept away from a race like The Everest this year, given his tender age and relative lack of experience. With I Wish I Win turned over last week and Giga Kick this, however, perhaps connections will have a think about their son of Exceed And Excel in an open-looking race.

The spring campaign is blossoming, and the big runners are out in force. We saw some of the potential stars for the end of 2023 in action on Saturday, and it will be no surprise to anyone if one of these three wins at Randwick in five weeks.