Everest’s summit awaits its Queen

If enthusiasm is any guide, punters can be grateful that James McDonald is riding Arcadia Queen in The Everest

Arcadia Queen is second favourite for the $13 million Everest. Picture: Colin Murty

If enthusiasm is any guide, punters can be grateful that James McDonald is riding Arcadia Queen in Randwick’s $14 million extravaganza, The Everest, and not his owner or trainer.

McDonald, riding in his first Everest — the event that while still in its infancy has become an immediate success story — is a stage the 27-year-old jockey wants to be a headline act upon.

McDonald was in Melbourne doing cartwheels in the saddle on the back of The Autumn Sun this time last year, enjoying his 15 minutes of fame on the colt. In 2017, The Everest ran without him as he served a ban for being party to a bet on a youngster he won on.

The Kiwi has ridden Arcadia Queen once, felt her accelerate like a Lamborghini under him before throttling down. The engine has been humming in maintenance gallops since.

McDonald says Arcadia Queen is “the full package” and who’s to argue the toss with him. The punters have steadied up, $5.50 on offer after she got in as tight as $4.80.

Arcadia Queen’s owner Bob Peters has enjoyed much success in racing — not just in WA but across Australia — so it is surprising how conservative he can be in the assessment of his horses.

Listening to him discussing the chances of Arcadia Queen, it would be fair to think Peters is “a glass three-quarters empty man”.

“It’s great to be here and we’re happy we got here … so far. All’s good … so far,” said the former chairman of the WA Turf Club and luxury car dealer.

“There is a lot of hype about her because she is the new kid on the block. She hasn’t raced against any of these sorts of horses. She hasn’t raced against horses of this quality. It’s very much an unknown.”

He and his wife Sandra’s company, Peters Investments, have prospered with their broodmare band winning classics, Australian and Perth Cups, feature mile events and much more.

Asked to identify the hardest to beat in The Everest, Peters was no more clear-cut. “I think they are all very hard to beat. They are all entitled to be there and any one can win the race. The best performed horses are probably Santa Ana Lane and Pierata’s been going well but it wouldn’t surprise me if any horse won,” he said.

Santa Ana Lane is $4.20 favourite, Arcadia Queen is now about the right quote for the mare that has won six of her seven starts but is potentially more a “miler’’ than a sprinter. Pierata is a $6 third elect.

Nature Strip ($26) is expected to lead the field with two-time Everest winner Redzel also a noted on-pacer.

Arcadia Queen will stalk the leaders from midfield and can strike down the straight. They will all be wary of Santa Ana Lane, the deadly swooper who is sure to feature in the finish.

Trainer Chris Waller has kept Arcadia Queen fresh since winning the Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill resuming and will have McDonald ride her where she is comfortable — in her comfort zone without being too far back.

Nature Strip and Yes Yes Yes are also trained by Waller and the champion trainer is loath to split the trio, but forced to make a call leans to Arcadia Queen with her inside barrier draw. There are people wanting to say Arcadia Queen is “a freak”, but Waller had an answer for them.

“I’ll tell you in about four years,” a reference to Winx and the passage of time her race record went blemish-free to achieve that status.