‘We don’t know how high he could go’: McEvoy’s growing Everest empire
By Chris Roots
Kerrin McEvoy has won more Everests than any other jockey and will become the only jockey to have competed in all eight runnings of The Everest after picking up the ride on Growing Empire in this year’s edition of the $20 million slot race.
McEvoy won the first two Everests on Redzel before steering Classique Legend to an emphatic win in 2020, and can easily ride at the 53kg a three-year-old colt carries under the weight-for-age scale.
Star colt Growing Empire will represent Yulong in the Everest.Credit: Getty Images
“He fills the right profile for a three-year-old in this race, if you look at Yes Yes Yes and Giga Kick, they came into the race on their up and ran a new PB,” McEvoy said.
“He is exciting. He has already done it against the older horses in the Manikato [Stakes], where he looked the winner until that late dive from Southport Tycoon.
“He is still learning and there is still improvement to come, so we don’t know how high he could go.”
Yulong decided to treat their star colt - who has won four of his six starts - after he just missed beating all-comers when grabbed in the final stride by Southport Tycoon in the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley last week.
Kerrin McEvoy won three Everests, on Redzel (2017 and 2018) and Classique Legend (2020).Credit: Getty
It gives Ciaron Maher a third runner in this year’s Everest, alongside mares Bella Nipotina and I Am Me and it will be the first time Growing Empire will return to Sydney since a controversial debut.
On that day, Growing Empire ran second in a maiden on debut at Randwick’s Kensington track but ran out after the post and through the outside fence and was lucky not to be seriously injured.
Maher sent Growing Empire back to Melbourne and immediately won at Listed level in the Valley Pearl before adding the Breeders’ Stakes in Adelaide to finish his two-year-old season.
Growing Empire looked in a different class as he won the McNeil Stakes and Poseidon Stakes against his own age before Maher stepped him up to group 1 weight-for-age company in the Manikato Stakes, where his narrow defeat made the decision an easier one for Yulong.
“Growing Empire is a hugely exciting colt for Mr Zhang and the whole Yulong team, he’s extremely talented with a blistering turn of foot,” Yulong general manager Vin Cox said. “On his last start, he showed us he is a true group 1 competitor.
“Three-year-olds have an outstanding record in The Everest and Growing Empire has every chance to build on that success.”
Mark Zahra has been in the saddle for three of Growing Empire’s wins but can’t get down to 53kg, however, he picked up the ride on 2022 Everest winner Giga Kick on Tuesday after James McDonald elected to ride Chris Waller-trained Joliestar.
Coolmore are the final slot holder to make a call on a horse to run in the Everest with Magic Millions winner Storm Boy favoured to be their runner.
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