Bjorn Baker dreamt of having an Everest runner at the beginning of the spring and now he has two after slot holder Bon Ho selected the flying Shades Of Rose for his spot.
Shads of Rose joins Overpass as Baker’s starters in next month’s $15 million showcase.
Sheraco Stakes winner Shades Of Rose will run in the Bon Ho slot in The Everest. Credit:Getty
It is a long way from Shades Of Rose’s bucking return at Rosehill in July in a race she failed to finish. Since then, she has taken her record to seven wins from nine starts, including a Sheraco Stakes victory last time out.
“I have watched this race for the past five years, hoping to just have a runner – now I have two. How good is that,” Baker said.
“I thought I had a chance at the beginning of spring to get Overpass into The Everest, but Shades Of Rose is a bit of surprise.
“She was always fast, but if you told after she bucked she would be in the Everest, I probably would have laughed at you.
Trainer Bjorn Baker now has two starters in The Everest.Credit:Getty
“As the preparation went on I thought she could run in The Everest next year, but it works out she has got there this year.”
Baker joins Chris Waller, James Cummings, Kris Lees and the training partnership of David Hayes and Tom Dabernig to have had multiple runners in an Everest.
He knows Shades Of Rose will take on underdog status against Nature Strip, Masked Crusader, Eduardo, and Lost And Running, which filled the first four placings in the race last year.
She joins the next generation of challengers Mazu, Snapdancer, Overpass and Golden Rose winner Jacquinot, but is the outsider of the field along with Mark Newnham-trained Joyful Fortune at $26.
Baker had sent Shades Of Rose for a spell after the Sheraco victory but after a week in the paddock, she showed signs that she was ready to return to the stable.
He believes the freshen-up has her ready for The Everest, where she will be ridden by Kerrin McEvoy.
“Her work on Tuesday was scintillating, that short break has her at the top of her game,” Baker said.
“Most of her wins have come from the front, but that was because of her natural speed, I think she will be even better ridden with a sit.
“We saw it when James McDonald rode her that little bit quieter, and she showed a real acceleration in the straight.
“I think she will love the pressure and I don’t think she is there making up the numbers.”
It leaves Godolphin and James Harron as the only slot holders to announce their runner.
Godolphin will choose one of their own but will wait until as close as possible to acceptance time to make the decision, most likely between Paulele and Golden Rose runner-up In Secret, while Harron will have a close look at the Premiere Stakes and the Gilgai Stakes on Saturday to find his runner.
