TAB and Maher reunite for $20m Everest tilt with Jimmysstar
Maher, Australia's leading trainer, believes the soon-to-be six-year-old is on the same path of improvement the now-retired Bella Nipotina followed last year when she gave the trainer a first Everest victory.
The TAB announced on Tuesday that Jimmysstar would be its representative in the 1200m showpiece at Randwick on October 18. He became the fourth horse locked into the 12-runner field after unbeaten Nathan Doyle-trained colt Private Harry, the Hawkes training team's TJ Smith Stakes winner Briasa and the David Hayes-prepared Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising.
Jimmysstar, winner of the group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield and All Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick last preparation, was $10 with Sportsbet before the announcement, behind Ka Ying Rising ($1.80), Private Harry ($7) and Briasa ($8).
Maher, whose team last week went past $60 million in prizemoney this season on the way to a third consecutive Australian trainers' premiership, is eyeing the $1 million group 2 The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on September 20 as the only Everest lead-in for Jimmysstar.
'To get Jimmy locked away nice and early, it makes the job a whole lot easier,' Maher said in a statement. 'We can concentrate on the race and having him right on the day.
'The plan will be to go to The Shorts over 1100m, given his success in the Oakleigh Plate, and then a month to the TAB Everest with a trial in between.'
He believed there were similarities between Jimmysstar and Bella Nipotina, which won the Everest as a seven-year-old at her first attempt.
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