2023 Doomben 10,000 winner Giga Kick

2024 Premiere Stakes Field Features The Everest Contenders

Lucy Henderson October 3, 2024

2024 Premiere Stakes Field Features The Everest Contenders

The countdown to the $20 million The Everest is well and truly on with the latest horses to lock in a spot in the world’s richest turf race likely known after Saturday’s Premiere Stakes 2024.

2023 Doomben 10,000 winner Giga Kick
Former The Everest champ Giga Kick is favourite second-up in Saturday’s 2024 Premiere Stakes. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Last Sydney Spring Racing Carnival the Joe Pride-trained Think About It secured the Premiere Stakes – The Everest race double and plenty of eyes will be on the opening leg this weekend at Royal Randwick.

A small but elite field of just eight sprinters does battle in the Group 2 $1 million Premiere Stakes (1200m) on Epsom Handicap Day with current markets at Ladbrokes.com.au led by the 2022 The Everest hero Giga Kick.

Clayton Douglas‘s now five-year-old son of Scissor Kick is at Premiere Stakes odds of $2.50 to salute second up in the important spring sprint.

Winner of the Group 1 All Aged Stakes – Doomben 10,000 double last year, he returned this prep running a promising fifth fresh with a hefty 60.5kg behind I Am Me in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m).

Fitter for the run he has a subsequent winning trial at Canterbury behind him and will relish a return to weight-for-age on Saturday with 58.5kg from gate five with master hoop James McDonald continuing associations.

The danger occupying the second line of Premiere Stakes betting this season at $3 is firming is an already confirmed The Everest 2024 runner, Ciaron Maher‘s multiple Group 1 winning mare Bella Nipotina.

The ultra-consistent daughter of Pride Of Dubai is going as good as ever proven by her strong return when second beaten a nostril flare in the Concorde.

The step-up to the six furlongs now is ideal for this sensational seven-year-old who, incredibly, has her 54th start on the weekend.

Bella Nipotina jumps from barrier six with Craig Williams in the saddle.

Last year’s Premiere Stakes winner, Think About It, also returns chasing back-to-back wins in the Group 2 for the first time since Mr. Innocent (1999-2000).

Think About It is out to be the first two-time Premiere Stakes winner since Mr. Innocent back in 1999 - 2000

Jason Collett partners the defending champion and reigning The Everest hero from the outside barrier on Saturday as the six-year-old son of So You Think returns for the spring.

Think About It was last seen running fifth to I Wish I Win in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) in Brisbane over the winter, an event Bella Nipotina was runner-up in.

He has an outstanding first-up record (5:4-1-0), is two-from-two at the track and trip, is a genuine Randwick specialist (6:4-1-0) so at $4 Premiere Stakes odds could be the value runner.

Pride also saddles-up two other runners in the Premiere Stakes field with the rails-drawn Coal Crusher ($35) as a roughie hope and Mazu ($8) drawn a treat in gate three second-up off his third to I Am Me in the Group 2 The Shorts (1100m).

Multiple Group 3 placegetter Airman ($31) for Team Hawkes, former TJ Smith Stakes winner Chain Of Lightning ($21) from the Moody/Coleman stable, and the rank outsider Bandi’s Boy ($126) complete the line-up.

The 2024 Premiere Stakes is set to run as Randwick Race 7 at 3:35pm (AEST).

Click here for the latest markets from Ladbrokes.com.au.

2024 Premiere Stakes Final Field & Barrier Draw

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Probable Weight Penalty Hcp Rating
1 5x3211x3x5 GIGA KICK Clayton Douglas James McDonald 5 58.5kg     116
2 x113x2505x THINK ABOUT IT Joseph Pride Jason Collett 8 58.5kg     115
3 54x50172x3 MAZU Joseph Pride Nash Rawiller 3 58.5kg     110
4 41x25450x0 COAL CRUSHER Joseph Pride Joshua Parr 1 58.5kg     105
5 128x370x66 AIRMAN Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes Zac Lloyd (a) 4 58.5kg     101
6 3x13119x00 BANDI’S BOY Danny Williams Jay Ford 7 58.5kg     96
7 54241221×2 BELLA NIPOTINA Ciaron Maher Craig Williams 6 56.5kg     118
8 70x01166x8 CHAIN OF LIGHTNING Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman Tommy Berry 2 56.5kg     114

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

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