Private Eye secures a berth in The Everest

PRIVATE Eye will join a select group to have contested at least three $20 million The Everests.

Private Eye has secured a place in The Everest. Photo: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images.

PRIVATE Eye will join a select group to have contested at least three $20 million The Everests.

The Joe Pride-trained Private Eye, who is raced by Jamie Walter’s Proven Thoroughbreds, has been secured by slot-holders Max Whitby, Neil Werrett and Col Madden to start in The Everest, run at Royal Randwick on October 19.

The owners and slot-holders teamed up with Private Eye last year when the gelding ran third behind stablemate Think About It.

The evergreen Private Eye also contested the 2022 The Everest and ran a close second to Giga Kick.

Champion Nature Strip is the only horse to contest four The Everests, winning in 2021, finishing fourth in 2019 and 2022 and seventh in 2021.

Redzel, winner of the 2017 and 2018 The Everests, the 2020 hero Classique Legend, Santa Ana Lane, Trekking and Eduardo, all ran in the world’s richest turf race three times.

Private Eye hasn’t won since The Shorts 13 months ago and has been unplaced in two runs this spring, but the seven-year-old gelding is a proven big-race performer, having amassed career earnings of more than $10,683,185.

Walter was understandably delighted to have secured a start in The Everest for Private Eye again.

Think About It wins the #TABEverest! @[e-mail]/zqcmxmkFRj

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 14, 2023

“I don’t think I would be out of order in saying if you reversed the gates last year you could argue Private Eye should nearly have won,” Walter said.

“They went at breakneck speed and he was posted without cover the whole way. It was a great run.

“Personally, I think Private Eye is poised to run very well next week.”

Private Eye, who will be ridden by Jay Ford, is at $15 in the latest market for The Everest.

The G2 Shorts at Randwick goes to I Am Me, who puts her name forward for an Everest slot! 🙌@mcacajamez | @cmaherracingpic.twitter.com/nw1CGrTI0u

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) September 21, 2024

Walter still hasn’t given up hope defending champ Think About can squeeze into The Everest field.

“We were hoping to secure a berth for Think About It but he was luckless (sixth in the Premiere Stakes on Saturday),’’ Walter said.

“There are diminishing slots for The Everest now so that is going to be problematic.”

Private Eye’s selection means there are only two vacant slots in The Everest – Godolphin and Yulong.

There is speculation Godolphin will make an Everest announcement as early as Monday with their crack colt Traffic Warden favoured to get the call up.

The three-year-old has been well backed to win The Everest in recent days and is into $9.

Yulong supremo Vin Cox is in France at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting so it is unlikely there will be an announcement until he returns but their star three-year-old Growing Empire is in the mix for an Everest start.

Meanwhile, Arrowfield Stud and the Star Entertainment Group runner I Am Me must gallop over 1000m or more in front of stewards and a Racing NSW Vet after her trainer Ciaron Maher informed stewards on Sunday that the mare had blood present in a nostril after she trialled last Friday.

Stewards will conduct an inquiry into Maher’s failure to report the incident “without delay” last Friday.

Originally published as Private Eye secures a berth in The Everest