Jimmysstar ready to step up for Maher in Everest after All Aged win
By Craig Kerry
Ciaron Maher was eyeing off back-to-back Everest wins after Jimmysstar’s coming out party took in a second group 1 on Saturday in the $1.5 million All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick.
Jimmysstar, the Oakleigh Plate (1100m) winner in February and a fast-finishing fourth in the TJ Smith Stakes last start, found clear air approaching the 200m mark after an ideal rails run under Ethan Brown.
Ethan Brown salutes aboard Jimmysstar in the All Aged Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
The five-year-old ($6 Sportsbet) then outsprinted his rivals, beating Joliestar by a half-length, with Sunshine In Paris third.
Maher won last October’s $20 million Everest (1200m), the richest race on turf, at Randwick with Bella Nipotina, which has since been retired. The nation’s leading trainer believed Jimmysstar was ready to fill the void.
“I was thinking about The Everest after the Oakleigh, so hopefully that cements him a place,” Maher said.
“The other day, he came home in a quicker time in the TJ than he did in the Oakleigh Plate, and his Oakleigh Plate was blistering. He’s just a very good horse and I’m sure he’ll be making his presence felt in an Everest.
Ciaron Maher and Ethan Brown embrace after Jimmysstar’s win in the All Aged Stakes.Credit: Getty Images
“And I’m sure he’ll be better again next prep.”
As for comparisons to Bella Nipotina, he said: “They are not too dissimilar. Bella probably made her own luck a bit better, but size and shape are not too dissimilar.”
Maher said he was thinking about a Queensland campaign with Jimmysstar before Saturday’s win but now “we’ll see how we go”.
“It’s a real come-out preparation for Jimmy. Four runs, all at group 1 level, so to claim two of them is pretty special,” he said.
‘They are not too dissimilar. Bella probably made her own luck a bit better.’
Ciaron Maher on comparisons between Jimmysstar and Bella Nipotina
“Browny as well, that was a really cool ride.”
It was a first group 1 win in Sydney for Brown.
In the other group 1, team Hawkes felt like a bunch of proud fathers as they watched Nepotism, a son of their 2019 Doncaster champion Brutal, conquer the Randwick mile with a spectacular run from last in the Champagne Stakes.
The $3.80 favourite after a powerful finish to claim the group 3 Baillieu, Nepotism looked in trouble at the back of the field from a wide draw before coming to the outside and unleashing a sustained charge in the straight to pass Within The Law in the shadows of the post.
Tyler Schiller, in the green, wins on Nepotism in the Champagne Stakes.Credit: Getty Images
It gave the father and sons training combination of John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes a second group 1 win of the season with a two-year-old, after Devil Night claimed the Blue Diamond Stakes.
It also gave jockey Tyler Schiller and the Hawkes a second group 1 of the Sydney autumn after Briasa took out the TJ Smith Stakes two weeks ago.
“It was a fantastic effort,” Michael said of Nepotism’s run.
“Horses have not made ground all day today, and he’s come from last, circled the field and still won, so it just goes to show what sort of horse he is.
“When he was at the back and when they were running along, I was thinking whether they were going hard enough. Last to first, unbelievable.
“You win a Blue Diamond, you win a TJ, you go and win a Champagne. It has just been a phenomenal ride and our younger brigade are staring to shine.”
Asked if Nepotism might get further, Wayne said: “We don’t need him to. I’m happy that he run 1601 metres and just finished in front of them.
“But his old man, Brutal, did that. He won a Doncaster at his seventh start. He’s the first progeny of Brutal, so it’s like a son out there.”