Jacquinot trainer Mick Price admits it is “scary” taking on Nature Strip and the world’s best sprinters with his boom colt but warns “no one should underestimate him” in The Everest on Saturday.
The parts of the puzzle Price can control point to his Rubick three-year-old performing at his peak. The parts he can’t control leave him worried.
Jacquinot storms down the outside to win the Golden Rose and earn a crack at The Everest.Credit:Getty
“He is bouncing,” Price said after Jacquinot’s final workout over 1000m on the Rosehill polytrack on Tuesday. “We went on that track because the grass was too wet, which is a worry for us. We want the track to improve.”
Jacquinot is unbeaten as a three-year-old and is delivering on the talent Price knew he had from the day he walked into the stable.
He placed in the Blue Diamond and came sixth in the Golden Slipper as a juvenile, but since returning as more mature colt he has scored explosive wins in the McNeil Stakes and Golden Rose this spring, both on firm tracks.
His massive turn of foot will be dulled by the expected soft to heavy ground on Saturday, leaving Price even more wary of the likes of Nature Strip, Eduardo and Lost And Running.
“There is no doubt about it that taking on a horse like Nature Strip is simply scary,” he said. “The whole race is a daunting task for any three-year-old, but we are excited to be here and running it.
“We had a good think about it after the Golden Rose and three-year-olds have gone well in it in the past, and we know this horse is flying. It is an opportunity for him to show how good he is and we are confidently taking it on.
“No one in our camp is underestimating the task that he has in front of him, but no one should underestimate him.”
While Nature Strip has shortened into a $1.80, there has been respect in the betting for Jacquinot at around the third-favourite $9 mark after his superb charge to victory in the Golden Rose.
The eight-year-old Nature Strip has put together his best form over the past 18 months whereas Jacquinot’s racing career dates back about 10 months to his win on debut at Caulfield on Boxing Day last year.
There is more to come from Jacquinot. He comes off a career-best performance in the Golden Rose and continues to improve, which he would need to do to win the $15 million showcase.
“I would be more confident if we were going to be on top of the ground, which would mean more speed in the race,” Price said. “They will probably sit up a bit more on a testing track and we’ll be getting back and doing our best.
“He has definitely improved from his two-year-old year to now being a Golden Rose winner. I think we are seeing the best of him because he spelled after the Golden Slipper.
“He took a big step first-up and then again in the Rose and the way he is now, he’ll be better again for The Everest.”
Price believes Jacquinot’s style of relaxing and getting back in his races will be suited in The Everest, where the speed is assured from Eduardo, Nature Strip and Overpass. If Jacquinot wins on Saturday, it will come with a real excitement factor, like his storming win in the Golden Rose.
“He finishes off his races as he did in the Golden Rose, where he ran the best last 200 metres of the day,” Price said. “If he is to be winning, it will be late on.
“He is going great, but he has just got to handle that soft ground, which we will find out on Saturday.”
