The Everest 2022

In a hurry? We’ve listed all the quick facts that you need to know about The Everest:

Born in 2017 as a way for Racing NSW to compete with the Melbourne Spring Carnival, this $15,000,000 race for sprinters attracts the eyes of all. This 1200m race, ‘The World’s Richest Race on Turf’, is listed as a ‘special conditions’ race due to being ineligible for Group rating as the race is only four years old. It is a weight-for-age race with no allowances for apprentices, with only horses 3 y.o and up able to be nominated.

The Everest is a race like no other, with the 12 horses for the race being selected by ‘slot holders’. Those who wish to be a ‘slot holder’, typically ownership or trainer groups, must pay a $600,000 fee to be eligible. Each ‘slot holder’ is then able to pick which horse they want to represent them in the race and gets a share of the prizemoney, along with owners, trainers, jockeys and stablehands.

This is the biggest sprint race on the calendar and is what the best sprinters in the country aim to win meaning we typically see the best horses racing at the peak of their powers, giving us a spectacular showdown over 1200m at Randwick.

Nature Strip finally broke through to win The Everest in 2021, after finishing 7th in 2020 and 4th in 2019. Nature Strip was able to hold off a fast finishing Masked Crusader, who finished second, and a familiar foe in Eduardo, with the trio completing the trifecta in the same finishing positions as the 2021 T.J. Smith Stakes in the Sydney Autumn Carnival.

In 2022, the race will be held on Saturday, October 15th at Randwick Racecourse. It shares the day with Caulfield Cup day in Melbourne, whilst also being host to The Kosciuszko and Group Three Sydney Stakes, which is often seen as the consolation race for emergencies of The Everest and those who weren’t selected.

The Everest is a fairly new race, especially compared to the other Spring Racing Carnival races like the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup. But it’s interesting concept and large amount of prizemoney make it one of the most popular races that most Aussies like to have a casual punt on. Our expert tipsters will put together a short list of The Everest tips to look out for in the leadup to the big race.

The Everest Tips From Experts

Our The Everest tips are available, you can find our runner by runner preview here. But, long story short, we like Nature Strip to win the The Everest. There are also a few others we like, including a roughie that could spoil the race for the favourite, but to find out more information on those tips, you’ll have to chat to The Shark!

The Everest Trifecta Tips

Winning The Everest trifecta is not simple, to say the least. But there are definitely tips and tricks that you can consider to make punting a little bit easier.

The Everest Trifecta Tip 1

Don’t blindly trust other punters, always go with your gut when it comes to choosing your favourites. Do your own research and look at stats into runners you think may have a shot at the The Everest trifecta.

The Everest Trifecta Tip 2

If you’re a bit unsure where to start with your research, consider checking out The Everest form guide – bookies like Sportsbet and Neds have them available year-round.

The Everest Trifecta Tip 3

Consider placing a box trifecta as opposed to a straight trifecta. A box trifecta is great because it covers you in all combinations of finishing positions, once you’ve chosen three runners. It will cost a bit more money extra to place, but improves your chances of winning The Everest trifecta by a great amount.

Where to Place The Everest Trifecta?

You’re able to place The Everest trifecta through an online bookie – or in store at TAB. Online bookies often offer elite punting services – with plenty of fans placing a box trifecta with the 3 favourites in their bet.

Online bookies are also not subject to business hours or location – which means you’re able to place The Everest trifecta from your living room! Online bookies also offer a step-by-step guide into placing The Everest trifecta.

There are a lot of important factors to consider before betting on The Everest. Make sure you have a read on below before you place your bets:

Is Previous Form in The Everest a Good Indicator of Future Success?

Given the race is still in its infancy, this is a tough indicator to judge, however there may be some merit. Redzel won the first edition in 2017 and then went back-to-back to win again in 2018.

Before winning in 2020, Classique Legend raced in the 2019 event, coming sixth overall, providing a case that two of the three winners, after the first event in 2017, had raced previously and finished in the top half of the race. Nature Strip contested the race in 2019 (4th) and 2020 (7th) before winning in 2021.

In saying that, looking at all horses that have competed in back to back years, the second year saw over twice as many horses finish worse off than actually improve their position from the year before. That shows that it may not actually be beneficial for a horse to have run in the race previously, instead using their form for that preparation as a better guide.

Should I Bet On The Favourite in The Everest?

Given that these are the best sprinters in Australia, and at times the world, typically the cream always rises to the top. In 2020, despite the likes of Nature Strip being in the race, Classique Legend was $4.20 favourite at the jump and ended up winning. Looking at The Everest in 2021, Nature Strip actually did start favourite and justified the quote by winning.

However, they are the only two favourites to win The Everest. Yes Yes Yes, 2019’s winner, was priced at $9, which was equal-fourth favourite on the day. Redzel jumped at $8.50 in both 2017 and 2018, proving that the favourite may not always be the best bet. Always look out for how the horses return for their Spring preparations, as well as the conditions on the day and which horses are better suited to those.

Formlines from Lead Up Races

There are a couple of key races that previous winners have gone through in the lead up to The Everest. Nature Strip and Redzel, in both years that he won, went to the Group Three Concorde Stakes first up, with both winning in all three years.

In 2017, Redzel went to the Group Two The Shorts, which he won, before taking four weeks off in the lead up, and then in 2018 he went to the Group Two Premiere Stakes, where he came fifth and then had the regular two week break before winning the big race.

Nature Strip also went to The Shorts second up but finished second in 2021. He was outdone by Eduardo in that race, who went on to finish third in The Everest.

While neither Yes Yes Yes or Classique Legend contested the Concorde Stakes, Classique Legend ran in both The Shorts, first up and came first, and the Premiere Stakes, second up and came second. He became the first of the three winners, over four years, to have the conventional lead up in the sense of having a race every two Saturdays.

Yes Yes Yes had a completely different path to The Everest, winning as a three-year-old. This meant that he contested the Group Two The Run To The Rose first up, coming second, and then he won the Group One Golden Rose before taking three weeks off before winning the 2019 The Everest.

Age

Given that there have been only five races and just four winners, there isn’t much data to go off in terms of age. In the first year, 2017, Redzel won as a five-year-old and then followed up the next year as a six-year-old. Classique Legend, in 2020, also won as a five-year-old, making that the most common winning age of the five years.

Nature Strip is an outlier in his own, being one of the best, if not the best sprinters in the world. He first contested The Everest as a five-year-old, but didn’t break through for a win until he was seven-years-old, in 2021.

Yes Yes Yes was somewhat of an outlier, winning out of nowhere as a three-year-old.

Weight

Much like the data with age, there isn’t much to go off with weight. Given the weight-for-age nature of the race, Redzel, both times, Classique Legend and Nature Strip, were tasked with carrying 58.5kg to victory while Yes Yes Yes, as a three-year-old colt only had to deal with 53kg when winning in record time.

The Everest Best Bets

Our The Everest tips are available, you can find our runner by runner preview here. But, long story short, we like Nature Strip to win the The Everest. There are also a few others we like, including a roughie that could spoil the race for the favourite, but to find out more information on those tips, you’ll have to chat to The Shark!

The Everest Bet Types

Below is a table that outlines the basics on how to bet on The Everest:

Long before The Everest field is officially announced – online bookies will open early markets, or all-in markets, for betting. This is prime time to place a punt on your horse, as you’re able to bet on strong contenders for The Everest at double-digit odds.

Once the bookies release the 2022 The Everest odds, they will obviously fluctuate frequently in the lead up to the race, especially when we have a better idea of which horses will be targeting the race and their form leading into the race.

Punting early on these markets can find you a favourite at prices of $10 or more, which will retain you a much higher return on investment. However, there is increased risk with doing this and you should be well aware.

Depending on when you place a futures bet on the 2022 The Everest, your horse may not even run but you won’t get your money back, occurring when the market is ‘All-In’ or closer to the starting date. If you are betting when it says ‘Before Noms’, you have the security of receiving your money back if your horse doesn’t run.

The 2022 Everest odds are out, and it is Nature Strip who continues to lead the pack, ahead of Mazu. Here are the current odds, courtesy of Neds, as of mid-August:

The Everest field for 2022 is yet to be determined and it will be interesting to see if any The Everest slot-holders change before the 2022 race. Given the slot-holders decide who runs in their slot, they are a big determining factor in the final The Everest field.

There are no confirmations until the barrier draw, which typically takes place on the Tuesday before the race, meaning in 2022 it will be held on Tuesday, October 11th.

Slot holders have up until 7:30am on the day of the race, Saturday 16th, to change a horse out if there are appropriate medical certificates that their initial horse is unable to participate. After 7:30am the horse can still be scratched but no replacement be named.

While we wait for 2022 The Everest Field, let’s take a look back at 2021, with Nature Strip taking out the crown:

The Everest Barrier Draw

There is no trend for what barrier provides the most winners, considering there are 12 barriers and there have only been five races. Redzel won the first edition of the race from barrier 4 and then won again from barrier 1 the following year. Yes Yes Yes was much wider, winning from barrier 9, while Classique Legend drew barrier 6 in 2020 when he won. Nature Strip jumped from barrier 10 in 2021, being the widest gate to win over the five years.

Those indicators show that the bottom half of the draw has won three of the five races, however it isn’t enough to go off for future predictions.

With the race yet to be run, we still don’t know what The Everest results for 2022 will be! However, check back in after the race and we will have all of the information on how the big race went and what the results are.

When looking back at the results from The Everest in 2021, Nature Strip finally broke through to win The Everest, finishing just 0.2 lengths ahead of a fast finishing Masked Crusader. Eduardo ran an incredible race to be less than half a length off the pace in third.

Many were debating what Nature Strip from the wide draw but he jumped well and had good sustained early speed, allowing him to take a front spot, ahead of Home Affairs and Wild Ruler, with Eduardo taking a sit in fourth. Nature Strip was able to extend his lead at the top of the straight without James McDonald having to put much work in, but when he did, Nature shot clear in front of the pack.

He did seem to be tiring over the final 100m and if Masked Crusader, who was last in the running, didn’t have to weave through all of the horses on the way through, may have caught him, but that wasn’t the case.

You’ve read the words, now watch the video! Have a squiz below at The Everest race in 2021:

Here are the full results from The Everest in 2021:

The Everest Winners

The results for the upcoming The Everest are not yet available, but in the meantime, you can have a look below at all the recent past winners:

Given the amount of money on offer, every Sydney jockey does their best to secure a ride in The Everest. In 2021, the winning jockey was awarded a massive $310,000, while second place received $115,000, third place received $70,000 and even 7th-12th received $22,500.

When it comes to The Everest jockeys, there is definitely some history. Despite the race being run four times, just three jockeys have had the honour of winning the race. Kerrin McEvoy was lucky enough to hoop Redzel for his two wins and then was also aboard Classique Legend in 2020. Glen Boss won on board Yes Yes Yes in 2019 while James McDonald steered Nature Strip home in 2021.

Given that the race is held on the same day as the Caulfield Cup, we don’t quite see the same congregation of elite-level jockeys that we do for the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup, however this is typically the 12 best jockeys that Sydney have to offer.

The Everest trainers obviously play a massive part in making sure that their elite sprinters are at the peak of their powers on raceday. As mentioned previously, The Everest is often a Grand Final for most sprinters so they have to go down the right path and have the right training regimen in order to be successful.

There have been just three trainers win The Everest across the five years. Peter and Paul Snowden had the honour of winning the first two runnings, given Redzel won in back-to-back years. Chris Waller has also won twice, with Yes Yes Yes in 2019 and Nature Strip in 2021. Les Bridge is the third trainer to win The Everest, training 2020’s winner, Classique Legend.

Below is the list of previous winners of The Everest and their trainers: