Sunlight starts her Everest campaign

Sunlight is set to begin a full campaign aimed at The Everest after she dashed up the Randwick straight in a 900m trial yesterday.

Accomplished mare Sunlight is set to resume on Saturday week and begin a full campaign aimed at The Everest after she dashed up the Randwick straight in a 900m trial yesterday.

Trainer Tony McEvoy won the Group I Coolmore Stud Stakes and Newmarket Handicap double with the filly that also won the Magic Millions Classic at two. McEvoy wanted to see how she had come back at four and got all the right signals.

“We didn’t send her out to do a lot. I just said to Luke (Currie) to let her enjoy the morning and she really looked like she did that,” McEvoy said.

“She jumped, sat outside the lead and quickened up nice and he said she idled down on her own. I loved the way she used her action and she’s still got her competitiveness and that’s what we need to see.”

McEvoy has picked out a race that will shape as a dress rehearsal for The Everest at Rosehill on September 7.

“Because of how gross she is, how good a doer she is and her soundness, she’ll run in the Concorde Stakes (first-up), The Shorts (September 21) and the Premiere (October 5) and the into The Everest (October 19).

Currie said Sunlight wasn’t out to break any records and he was merely a passenger, holding Sunlight together.

“I rode her in some work last Friday and she was pretty relaxed so it was good for her to do a harder piece of work today. It will bring her on. She’s furnished into a nice looking mare,” Currie said.

The Anthony Cummings-trained Mizzie whittled Sunlight’s margin to a length, but her performance was overshadowed by Libertini’s victory in the previous heat.

Libertini drew measured praise from jockey Tommy Berry, who is keen to see the emerging three-year-old make the leap to Goup winner.

“She’s a no-nonsense filly who just goes out there and gets the job done. She had a trial a couple of weeks ago where we never let her off the bridle, but today we let her do a bit more over the last 150 metres and she exploded,” Berry said.

“She’s come back in great order and I’m really excited about the spring ahead for her. She’s come back stronger and much more mature. She’s just got to step up to the better races.

Not having raced since a closing second in the Kindergarten Stakes in April at Randwick — the only blemish on her three start record, Libertini will be aimed at the Princess series culminating with the Group I Flight Stakes on October 5.

Happy Clapper got a rev up from Hugh Bowman in an unplaced effort in the opening heat of the morning that underwhelmed trainer Pat Webster.

“On face value he was a little bit disappointing, but he had a good blow. He usually trials a lot better than that,” he said.

“Hugh said he just went around. He usually hits the line a lot better but one good thing about him is you know what happens race day and it doesn’t matter what happens at the trials.”

Another look at the replay may have satisfied Webster, Happy Clapper really only warming up over the final 50 metres. He resumes on Saturday week in the Winx Stakes (1400m) and then waits a month for the George Main Stakes (16600m), both races at Randwick.