The all-important 2023 The Everest barrier draw was announced by Racing NSW on Tuesday evening with race favourite I Wish I Win drawing gate one in a blow for favourite backers.

The Peter Moody-trained I Wish I Win races in Saturday’s $20 million The Everest field. Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

The all-important 2023 The Everest barrier draw was announced by Racing NSW on Tuesday evening having officially been conducted privately by stewards earlier in the day.

Betting on the $20 million showdown taking place at Royal Randwick on Saturday was shut down all day but has now reopened at betting operators around the country including Ladbrokes.com.au.

Heading the updated The Everest odds online at $4.50 is the Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman-trained I Wish I Win racing for Trackside (the NZ TAB) and the Kiwis will be well represented by the talented Golden Eagle – TJ Smith Stakes champion.

I Wish I Win will be ridden by Luke Nolen of Black Caviar fame with the Savabeel five-year-old donning the number one saddlecloth second-up off a third to Mr Brightside in Caulfield’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) on September 2.

Moody had been hoping for a wide gate, but the favourite drew the inside alley in some early bad luck.

The other best in The Everest betting has been the Joe Pride-trained Think About It (Newgate Farm & GPI Racing who has firmed back into equal $4.50 favouritism after coming up trumps with gate five.

Giga Kick won The Everest from barrier five last year and from that alley Think About It can roll forward, settle in stalking position within the first half of the field and looks to have every chance at wininng his ninth on the trot.

Sam Clipperton partners the five-year-old son of So You Think who was a narrow first-up winner for the punters in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) over The Everest track and trip on September 30.

Pride also saddles-up last year’s The Everest runner-up Private Eye with hoop of the spring Nash Rawiller to ride for slot-holders Max Whitby & Neil Werrett.

The horse made a huge return winning the Group 2 The Shorts and looks to be going even better as a six-year-old this spring as he looks to go one better than his second to the three-year-old Giga Kick in last year’s The Everest results.

Private Eye has drawn a tricky gate with barrier nine, but has the right jockey to find the winning position with Rawiller likely to slot in mid-field and is the $7 third elect in the current markets.

Past The Everest Winning Barriers

• 2017 – Redzel (Barrier 4)
• 2018 – Redzel (Barrier 1)
• 2019 – Yes Yes Yes (Barrier 9)
• 2020 – Classique Legend (Barrier 6)
• 2021 – Nature Strip (Barrier 10)
• 2022 – Giga Kick (Barrier 5)

A big cheer went up for when the barrier for Overpass was announced with the talented Bjorn Baker-trained Vancouver five-year-old coming up trumps with gate two.

The inaugural $4 million The Quokka winner and Group 2 The Shorts runner-up last time out is sure to lead The Everest field around and gets every chance to lead all-the-way from his gun gate with Josh Parr in the saddle of last year’s sixth place-getter.

He is now into $8 as a single-figure The Everest hopeful.

Peter & Paul Snowden won the opening two editions of the world’s richest turf race with dual champion Redzel (2017-18) and they return in 2023 chasing a third trophy with Mazu.

Mazu was an emerging star when third in the race last year and has again been snapped up by the same slot holders The Star & Arrowfield with Tommy Berry to ride.

The son of Maurice missed the Premiere Stakes after being scratched on race day with mild lameness, but performed well in a subsequent barrier trial and is reportedly doing well, but suffered a blow with another wide gate 11 draw and is out to $41.

Last year’s The Everest winning hoop Craig Williams partners the outsider in betting this year aboard $10.6 million European purchase Alcohol Free in gate seven.

The now Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained mare was the last to lock in her spot in The Everest field for Yulong Investments with the four-time Group 1 winner coming off a Premiere Stakes fourth on debut in Australia and is the $71 outsider.

Waterhouse & Bott also saddle-up progressive I Am Invincible four-year-old Hawaii Five Oh (Auqis) who ran third in the Premiere.

Jockey James McDonald was aboard the marvel Nature Strip for a win in The Everest in 2021 and has secured the ride on Hawaii Five Oh this weekend.

Hawaii Five Oh has one of the best finishing sprints and is capable of a huge late run with J Mac likely to settle back from barrier 10 on the $15 pop.

Nature Strip (barrier 10) is currently the only The Everest winner to salute from a double-digit barrier.

The other former The Everest winning jockey with a ride this year is three-time champion Kerrin McEvoy who rode Redzel for both his victories as well as Classique Legend in 2020 for trainer Les Bridge.

McEvoy partners Golden Slipper winning colt Shinzo ($15) for Coolmore with the three-year-old son of Snitzel representing potential value to become the third youngster to win the 1200m feature.

History will be made by McEvoy on Saturday as he becomes the only jockey to ride in all seven editions of The Everest race.

Shinzo’s charge at the big prize gained momentum on Tuesday evening with the young star drawing gate six from which he can get into the right position one-off with cover.

The fellow Chris Waller-trained Yes Yes Yes was the first three-year-old The Everest winner in 2019 before Giga Kick last year.

The other three-year-old in the mix in 2023 is the James Cummings-trained $8 fancy Cylinder (James Harron Bloodstock) who will be ridden by apprentice Zac Lloyd.

The Exceed And Excel colt fills the slot left vacant by the injured Giga Kick and brings in some top form lines.

He was runner-up in the Slipper as a two-year-old, won the Run To The Rose this spring and only went down a neck when third in the Group 1 Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) over 200m further behind Militarize.

He’ll be better back to the 1200m and looks a value shot to go back-to-back for the three-year-olds after drawing favourably with gate four from which he can jump on speed.

Cummings also trains Godolphin’s runner In Secret ($17) with Hong Kong’s Zac Purton booked to ride the dual Group 1 winner at Flemington.

She presents rock-hard fit third-up now having come via two traditional lead-up runs in the Concorde Stakes (2^nd) and The Shorts (3^rd), should relish the six furlongs now, but will need all of Purton’s brilliance after drawing barrier 12 of 12.

The other now Hong Kong-based jockey riding a The Everest contender on Saturday is Hugh Bowman on the other Waller chance Espiona ($17) with the mare coming off a Group 2 Golden Pendant win.

Espiona drew barrier three which is ideal for her with the mare needing cover to challenge.

From her good gate she can find the fence and has the late sprint to race better than her price suggests.

The seventh edition of the $20 million The Everest (1200m) takes place at Royal Randwick as part of a huge Sydney race card on Saturday that also features the Group 1 $5 million King Charles III  Stakes (1600m).

Click here for the updated The Everest 2023 betting markets on the final field. 

2023 The Everest Field & Barrier Draw

Table Credit: Racing Australia.