Finally, the sun shone. It seems Peter V’landys might even have a say in the weather.
On the day of his signature race, the $15 million The Everest, Sydney partied its way out of the gloom on Saturday as the world’s richest turf event roared back to life after two COVID-interrupted editions.
In front of a modern-day record crowd of 46,221 at Royal Randwick, a 27-year-old trainer barely known outside of Victoria struck a blow for the southerners when unbeaten three-year-old Giga Kick caused a major upset, knocking over red-hot favourite Nature Strip in The Everest.
“Hopefully people think I can train now,” Giga Kick’s trainer Clayton Douglas joked.
Douglas, a former jumps jockey who hasn’t even trained 30 winners in his career yet, teamed up with one of the oldest jockeys in The Everest as Craig Williams burst out of the ruck on Giga Kick ($21) to run down Private Eye ($12).
Favourite Nature Strip ($1.90f) hit the lead in the straight, but faded into fourth.
A happy punter at Royal Randwick on Saturday.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
Williams has spent the best part of the year organising humanitarian relief for war-torn Ukraine along with his wife Larysa, who hails from the country.
He has made several visits back to the area to provide first aid supplies and celebrated the most lucrative win of his career in The Everest, which carries a $6.2 million first prize split between slotholder James Harron and Giga Kick’s owners.
“People that have never followed racing before are following [The Everest],” Williams said. “In its five years, you can see how much promotion goes into it and the racing is thriving. People are seeing how much love we have for the equine athlete and what goes into it. This is just another great story.”
The Everest involves 12 slotholders – made up of uber-wealthy individuals like Hong Kong businessman Bon Ho and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, along with ASX-listed Tabcorp – brokering deals with the owners of horses to represent them in The Everest.
Each slotholder pays $600,000 a year to own a starting position. Harron’s investment proved a shrewd one as he teamed up with Giga Kick’s owners to climb the mountain for a second time having picked inaugural winner Redzel in 2017.
“There was a lot of pressure on [choosing Giga Kick], but we love the profile of three-year-olds in the race,” he said. “It’s a dream he’s able to come up and do it like this.”
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