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The Everest is the richest turf race in the world with $15 million in prize money now on offer in the restricted Royal Randwick event run annually on a Saturday in October as the new highlight of the Sydney Spring Racing Carnival.

Racing NSW announced the inaugural edition of The Everest would take place in 2017 as Sydney look to compete for the racing community and punters’ attention with the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and the event proved a huge success.

The Everest is now Australia’s richest race surpassing the Group 1 $8 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) held on the first Tuesday of November at Flemington.

Contested over 1200m The Everest race is a weight-for-age sprint showdown open to local and international connections who “buy” their way into the race paying a $600,000 entry fee to have a runner in The Everest field.

The incredible The Everest prize money on offer is funded from this hefty entry fee as well as other event-generated events.

The Everest now competes with the Melbourne sprint races running around the same time of the season including Moonee Valley’s Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) and serves as a gun lead-up to Flemington’s Group 1 VRC Sprint Classic (1200m) held on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November.

The Everest ran for the first time in 2017 and was won by Redzel who went on to win the VRC Sprint Classic in Melbourne next race.

Redzel successfully defended in title in 2018 to become the first back-to-back The Everest winner in the same way the mighty Archer won the opening two editions of the Melbourne Cup (1861-62).

Redzel attempted a three-peat but only managed to run eighth behind three-year-old Yes Yes Yes in the 2019 The Everest results that saw a new track record set by the young champion.

For the 2019 edition of The Everest the prize money was boosted to $14 million and another prize money increase in 2020 saw the event offer an unprecedented $15 million in stakes!

In 2020 jockey Kerrin McEvoy secured his third The Everest success in the race’s four-year history riding the previous season’s sixth placegetter Classique Legend to victory. Classique Legend ($4.20 in 2020) became the first The Everest favourite to salute for the punters.

In 2021 trainer Chris Waller won the race for a second time when the favourite Nature Strip ($3.70) saluted for the punters at his third attempt in the event.

The race is now part of a wider The Everest Carnival that has a host of special condition races taking place across Sydney with over $48 million in prize money being awarded.

The Everest date has also been moved back and it now runs on the same day as the $5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) in Melbourne.

The Everest Day also features another Special Condition feature race with the $1.3 million The Kosciuszko open only to NSW country-trained horses.

Each year The Everest results also determine the race name for the Winners Stakes, a million feature run at Rosehill on the same day as Melbourne’s VRC Derby.

2021 The Everest took place at Randwick on Saturday October 16, 2021 and saw the Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip ($3.70F) win at his third attempt. 

The Everest 2021
Date:	Saturday October 16, 2021
Track:	Royal Randwick Racecourse
Distance:	1200m
Race Type:	Weight-for-age
Status:	Special Condition
Prize Money:	$15 million

2021 The Everest Results

• 1st: #1 Nature Strip ($3.70F)
• 2nd: #6 Masked Crusader
• 3rd: #3 Eduardo

It was third time lucky for Chris Waller’s champion sprinter Nature Strip who finally led the 2021 The Everest results holding off a fast-finishing Masked Crusader with Eduardo third in the world’s richest turf race.

Click here to read more on the thrilling The Everest 2021 win by Nature Strip. 

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	1	NATURE STRIP	Chris Waller	James McDonald		10	58.5kg		$3.70F
	2	6	MASKED CRUSADER	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Tommy Berry	0.2L	9	58.5kg		$12
	3	3	EDUARDO	Joseph Pride	Nash Rawiller	0.43L	7	58.5kg		$4.20
	4	10	LOST AND RUNNING (NZ)	John O’Shea	Hugh Bowman	2.03L	2	58.5kg		$41
	5	2	CLASSIQUE LEGEND	Les Bridge	Kerrin McEvoy	2.04L	5	58.5kg		$5.50
	6	5	TREKKING	James Cummings	Joshua Parr	2.21L	4	58.5kg		$31
	7	4	GYTRASH	Gordon Richards & Damien Moyle	Jason Collett	4.67L	1	58.5kg		$8
	8	11	LIBERTINI	Anthony Cummings	Sam Clipperton	4.97L	8	56.5kg		$31
	9	12	HOME AFFAIRS	Chris Waller	Glen Boss	5.01L	6	53kg		$12
	10	8	THE INFERNO	Cliff Brown	Regan Bayliss	6.27L	12	58.5kg		$21
	11	9	EMBRACER	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jean Van Overmeire	8.36L	3	58.5kg		$101
	12	7	WILD RULER	Peter & Paul Snowden	Tim Clark	9.19L	11	58.5kg		$51
		15e	STANDOUT	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou			0
		16e	CHAT	John Thompson			0
		13e	KEMENTARI	James Cummings			0
		14e	SIGNORE FOX	Peter & Paul Snowden			0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2021 The Everest Betting Odds

The Everest betting offers some of the hottest spring racing carnival markets and Australia’s best sprinters dominate The Everest odds each season. With strong international interest in the $15 million sprint, class sprinters from around the globe also feature in The Everest betting.

The Everest odds are led by proven Group 1 winning sprinters that have previous form in past editions of The Everest race and those who dominated the autumn features including the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) that takes place at the same track – distance.

Odds on The Everest horses also firm as slot-holders confirm their runners.

Classique Legend ($4.20 in 2020) started the shortest-priced The Everest favourite and became the first to win the event.

The following year Nature Strip ($3.70 in 2021) won as favourite at his third attempt.

2021 The Everest Tips

Stay tuned for our  insider The Everest 2021 betting tips and exotic Randwick spring racing selections on the country’s richest race.

The Favourite: #1 Nature Strip ($3.80 At Time Of Publish) 

Deserves his spot at the top of the markets now we’re into Heavy going for The Everest. Recent form reads 1-2-1-1-2 including his successful TJ Smith Stakes title defence at this track/distance in the autumn. Barrier 10 is ideal with the wet conditions, James McDonald knows the horse well and he’s a champion sprinter. Out to atone for getting run down in The Shorts, but kept fresh and on his best day he wins. He was so good with the big weight defeating subsequent Moir Stakes winner Wild Ruler by that big margin in the Concorde and is very well placed here.

The Danger: #6 Masked Crusader ($10 At Time Of Publish) 

Easing in the markets now we’ve got the confirmation of a Heavy track, but don’t discount the Hawkes Racing-trained galloper yet! He was solid winning the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at the track/distance last time out and ran second (albeit two lengths beaten) behind Nature Strip in the TJ Smith on a Slow (6) in the autumn. He’s only had one on really wet going when runner-up just a neck off Varda last August on a Heavy (10) here at Rosehill with 55kg. Better on firm ground, but think he’ll be finishing strongly regardless from the back and he’s at an attractive price.

The Value: #12 Home Affairs ($13 At Time Of Publish) 

Chris Waller won the 2019 The Everest with a three-year-old (Yes Yes Yes) and looks a genuine chance at doing it again this year in an upset with his Silver Slipper winner Home Affairs. The I Am Invincible colt was excellent fresh winning the Listed Heritage Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill with 59kg. Right down in the weights and fit second-up. That form was franked by Paulele winning the Roman Consul, but the question is the Heavy track that he is yet to see. Does he handle it? Can he measure up? We’ll find out soon enough!

2021 The Everest Field

The spring’s The Everest field features the best sprint horses from Australia and abroad competing for the incredible prize money on offer including the millions on offer to The Everest winner.

Connections must pay a whopping $600,000 entry fee to have their horse run in the capacity 12-starter The Everest field, meaning the sprinters on show come from the richest owners and stables able to afford the cost of having a runner.

Racing NSW and the Australian Turf Club sell 12 slots in The Everest field each year that can be traded or that the owners of which can enter into a partnership with a non-slot holding connection to make up the final field.

The Everest 2021 race field will be confirmed on Tuesday October 12, 2021 and published below as soon as available.

The 2021 The Everest Barrier Draw is conducted at 11:30am (AEDT) on Tuesday the 12th of October, 2021.

The Everest 2021 Field Confirmed: Trekking, Embracer Fill Final Slots

 

2021 The Everest Jockeys Locked In: Barrier Draw To Follow

 

• The Everest 2021 emergencies are: Standout, Signore Fox, Chat and Kementari. 

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	472x121x12	NATURE STRIP	Chris Waller	James McDonald	10	58.5kg			121
2	60x1x1210x	CLASSIQUE LEGEND	Les Bridge	Kerrin McEvoy	5	58.5kg			120
3	204x1131x1	EDUARDO	Joseph Pride	Nash Rawiller	7	58.5kg			118
4	2x131x30x3	GYTRASH	Gordon Richards & Damien Moyle	Jason Collett	1	58.5kg			115
5	424x554x33	TREKKING	James Cummings	Joshua Parr	4	58.5kg			115
6	x13125x151	MASKED CRUSADER	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Tommy Berry	9	58.5kg			114
7	13x1619x21	WILD RULER	Peter & Paul Snowden	Tim Clark	11	58.5kg			112
8	2x1111x612	THE INFERNO	Cliff Brown	Regan Bayliss	12	58.5kg			111
9	30x177x223	EMBRACER	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jean Van Overmeire	3	58.5kg			102
10	1x11211x84	LOST AND RUNNING (NZ)	John O’Shea	Hugh Bowman	2	58.5kg			101
11	49x183x38x	LIBERTINI	Anthony Cummings	Sam Clipperton	8	56.5kg			109
12	2138×1	HOME AFFAIRS	Chris Waller	Glen Boss	6	53kg			94
13e	381x6602x1	KEMENTARI	James Cummings		0	58.5kg			109
14e	730x15433x	SIGNORE FOX	Peter & Paul Snowden		0	58.5kg			105
15e	5528x00x62	STANDOUT	Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou		0	58.5kg			104
16e	2355×12715	CHAT	John Thompson		0	58.5kg			103

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Confirmed 2021 The Everest Horses

Stay tuned below as the 12 slots in The Everest Field are filled, the confirmed horses and jockeys along with the slot-holders to be listed below as positions are announced leading up to the race.

EMBRACER

• Trainer: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
• Slot Holder: James Kennedy

After his original slot holder Rothfire was withdrawn, James Kennedy left his second selection until last minute, finally naming the Waterhouse/Bott six-year-old Embracer on the back of the horse’s surprise third at big odds in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes.

TREKKING

• Trainer: James Cummings
• Slot Holder: Godolphin

Despite a number of younger horses having put their hand up for a shot at The Everest title for the Royal Blue brigade, Godolphin have stuck with their proven sprint star Trekking. He ran third in 2019 to Yes Yes Yes and was far from disgraced when fourth last season. It’s been a long time between drinks for the now seven-year-old whose last victory was in the 2020 Group 1 The Goodwood in Adelaide. He has been consistent as ever this prep however when third in the Concorde here and then third in the Moir at The Valley. A top three hope again.

HOME AFFAIRS

• Trainer: Chris Waller
• Slot Holder: Coolmore

Coolmore have given Chris Waller another shot at winning The Everest with a three-year-old following the 2019 victory of Yes Yes Yes. Home Affairs is a smart I Am Invincible colt with Group 2 winning form at the Randwick track (Silver Slipper) and he looked good winning the Listed Heritage Stakes fresh at Rosehill on September 25 carrying 59kg.

WILD RULER

• Trainer: Peter & Paul Snowden
• Slot Holder: Yu Long Investments

Peter & Paul Snowden’s impressive Group 1 Moir Stakes winner second-up at The Valley has been selected by Yu Long Investments to fill one of the three final slots in The Everest 2021 field.

LIBERTINI

• Trainer: Anthony Cummings
• Slot Holder: Aquis

Star first-up performer Libertini will get the chance to be the first The Everest winner to salute first-up when she resumes in the world’s richest turf race looking to improve on her eighth when second-up last year. She defeated subsequent The Everest champion Classique Legend by two lengths fresh in last year’s Group 2 Premiere Stakes and connections are hoping she can produce another slick run first-up this time in to give the field a run for their money at a nice price.

THE INFERNO

• Trainer: Cliff Brown
• Slot Holder: James Harron Bloodstock

Former Singapore sprint star The Inferno secured a slot in The Everest field this year on the back of a nice second when narrowly denied a Group 1 win in the Moir Stakes at The Valley. That close call came on the back of his Group 2 McEwen Stakes victory, also at Moonee Valley.

EDURADO

• Trainer: Joe Pride
• Slot Holder: The Star & Arrowfield

Joe Pride’s evergreen eight-year-old Eduardo gets a second shot in The Everest following his disappointing 11th last spring. He went on to enjoy top level wins in this year’s The Galaxy at Rosehill and Doomben 10,000 in Brisbane and he was excellent first-up upsetting Nature Strip in the Group 2 The Shorts.

GYTRASH

• Trainer: Gordon Richards
• Slot Holder: Inglis

Classy South Australian sprint star Gytrash returns looking to atone for his third in last year’s The Everest results. He went on to pick up a consolation prize with success in Rosehill’s $1 million Winners Stakes before a The Goodwood third at home and disappointing Kingsford-Smith Cup effort (12th) from a wide alley in Brisbane over the winter. Resumed with a good first-up third in the Group 2 The Shorts.

CLASSIQUE LEGEND

• Trainer: Les Bridge
• Slot Holder: Inglis

One of the first confirmed 2021 The Everest horses, classy grey Classique Legend returns to defend his title in the world’s richest turf race having won last year’s event by a runaway 2.5 lengths. A failed Hong Kong Sprint run followed in December and the question is how the horse returns back down under as he attempts to emulate dual The Everest winner Redzel (2017,2018).

LOST AND RUNNING

• Trainer: John O’Shea
• Slot Holder: TAB

Rising five-year-old Lost And Running was six-from-seven for his career ahead of the spring and was a big drifter in The Everest betting after a first-up flop running a first-up last in The Shorts before improving second-up when fourth in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes.

NATURE STRIP

• Trainer: Chris Waller
• Slot Holder: Chris Waller Racing

Chris Waller has opted to stick with his tried and true champion Nature Strip for another The Everest bid in 2021. This horse ran fourth to stablemate Yes Yes Yes in 2019 before a disappointing seventh last year, but he’s picked up two Group 1 wins since including successfully defending his TJ Smith Stakes title at The Everest track and distance over the autumn. He was impressive fresh saluting at short odds in the Concorde Stakes before going down next-up when running a shock second to Eduardo in The Shorts.

CLASSIQUE LEGEND

• Trainer: Les Bridge
• Slot Holder: Bon Ho

One of the first confirmed 2021 The Everest horses, classy grey Classique Legend returns to defend his title in the world’s richest turf race having won last year’s event by a runaway 2.5 lengths. A failed Hong Kong Sprint run followed in December and the question is how the horse returns back down under as he attempts to emulate dual The Everest winner Redzel (2017,2018).

MASKED CRUSADER

• Trainer: Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes
• Slot Holder: Max Whitby & Neil Werrett

Lightly-raced gelding was good in the autumn, his campaign headlined by a Group 1 William Reid Stakes win in Melbourne. Second to Nature Strip in the TJ Smith and far from disgraced over 1400m when a close fifth in the All Aged Stakes. First-up win in Caulfield’s The Heath 1100 before failing to run in the money in The Shorts (5th). Nothing went his way there but he atoned winning the Group 2 Premiere Stakes at Randwick third-up and fit.

2021 The Everest Prize Money

The Everest is now the richest turf race in the world with $15 million in total prize money on offer. Prize money in The Everest race is paid down to 12th giving all runners in the field a share in the stakes.

A horse in The Everest results would need to run fifth to pay back the $600,000 entry fee for connections.

• 1st: $6,200,000
• 2nd: $2,400,000
• 3rd: $1,300,000
• 4th: $1,000,000
• 5th: $750,000
• 6th: $500,000
• 7th: $450,000
• 8th: $450,000
• 9th: $450,000
• 10th: $450,000
• 11th: $450,000
• 12th: $450,000

The Everest History

The first ever The Everest results and inaugural The Everest winner was decided when the then $10 million took place in October of 2017, Redzel making history with his impressive victory.

For the second edition of The Everest race, the Australian Turf Club (ATC) and Racing NSW increased the overall prize money to an incredible $13 million and Redzel was back in winning form posting back-to-back wins in The Everest.

The Everest history was made for the third running in 2019 with three-year-old Yes Yes Yes defeating a field of seasoned sprinters to set a new track record.

The records continued in the 2020 edition with jockey Kerrin McEvoy winning his third The Everest aboard Classique Legend, the horse the first favourite to get the job done.

Waller won his second The Everest trophy in 2021 with Nature Strip.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2021 The Everest	1st	Nature Strip	1 minute 9.11 seconds
	2nd	Masked Crusader
	3rd	Eduardo
2020 The Everest	1st	Classique Legend	1 minute 8.27 seconds
	2nd	Bivouac
	3rd	Gytrash
2019 The Everest	1st	Yes Yes Yes	1 minute 7.32 seconds (R)
	2nd	Santa Ana Lane
	3rd	Trekking
2018 The Everest	1st	Redzel	1 minute 12.03 seconds
	2nd	Trapeze Artist
	3rd	Osborne Bulls
2017 The Everest	1st	Redzel	1 minute 8.36 seconds
	2nd	Vega Magic
	3rd	Brave Smash