A host of short-distance specialists heading towards the $10 million The Everest have been nominated for an early spring test in The Shorts 2017 at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The Everest favourite Chautauqua resumes in The Shorts 2017 at Royal Randwick this Saturday in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

The newest addition to the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival, the inaugural edition of the Restricted The Everest (1200m) is scheduled for Randwick on October 14.

Heading pre-field The Everest odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au is Team Hawkes’ triple TJ Smith Stakes winner at the track and distance Chautauqua at an equal $5 with Memsie Stakes winner Vega Magic.

Favouritism in futures The Everest betting will likely be decided this weekend when Chautauqua, plus a number of other top sprinters, face off in the Group 2 $200,000 The Shorts (1100m).

The Shorts nominations attracted a dozen horses on Monday and seven-year-old Chautauqua is early $3.20 co-favourite with the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Redzel.

Chautauqua was last seen racing on April 1 during ‘The Championships’ when making history with a third consecutive win in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) in the wet.

He has trialled well twice since and has a smart first-up record of five wins, a second and a third from eight resuming runs that he will be out to add to in The Shorts.

While competitive over as far as 1500m and brilliant at 1200m, the great grey is also efficient fresh over The Shorts distance with two wins and a third from three previous runs over the 1100m.

With the fitness edge and challenging for top spot in The Shorts betting, Snitzel five-year-old Redzel chases a fourth win on the trot.

The Group 1 Doomben 10,000 winner during the winter, the gelding came back a fortnight ago winning the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) by two lengths over Spieth at Randwick.

Lumping 60kg to victory that day, Redzel will be rock hard fit on Saturday stepping up in class and distance and will carrying the 58kg equal top weight with Chautauqua under the set weights plus penalties conditions.

Redzel could also earn a shot in The Everest field and sits as an $11 shot for the upcoming feature.

Also at $11 to win The Everest 2017 and already assured of a slot in the race is the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained English who is another headline The Shorts nominee.

The five-year-old Encosta De Lago mare is three-from-four first-up and is scheduled to kick off her spring on Saturday, stepping out for the first time since her disappointing sixth behind Secret Agenda in Adelaide’s Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) back in May.

She chases her first victory since defeating Redzel in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) on a Heavy (10) Randwick track back in March and also has recent form around Chautauqua having run a neck second to him in this year’s TJ Smith Stakes quinella.

Other exciting The Shorts prospects include the Gary Moore-trained Winterbottom Stakes winner from last November Takedown and Matthew Dale’s perennial Group 1 placegetter Fell Swoop.

Check out the full The Shorts 2017 nominations below, the field and updated odds from Ladbrokes.com.au set for release on Wednesday.

2017 The Shorts Nominations

Randwick Racecourse – 16/09/2017