Wait for age mission
TRAINER Toby Edmonds says Houtzen will stick to three-year-old races in the immediate future despite her gallant effort in the $10 million The Everest.
Houtzen will race in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington on November 4 before Gold Coast-based Edmonds maps out a plan for the autumn carnival.
The Coolmore Stud Stakes will be Houtzen’s fourth and final run of her current preparation.
“I’ll definitely look at the autumn so we will make those plans once this one is over,” Edmonds said.
“To be truthful she is still three so we will look at threeyear-old races but I haven’t gone much past this current preparation.”
Houtzen led the field in Saturday’s weight-for-age The Everest (1200m) at Randwick before finishing 3.2 lengths behind the winner Redzel.
It was her first attempt in an open class race against multiple Group 1 winners and the filly proved to be more than capable.
Edmonds couldn’t have been happier with how Houtzen pulled up the morning after her biggest race and is planning on putting her on a float to Melbourne early this week.
“She looked great, very good,” Edmonds said.
Jockey Jeff Lloyd convinced Edmonds to push forward with plans to take Houtzen to The Everest, where part-owners Aquis Farm had secured a slot for her, following her winning lead-up run at Moonee Valley on September 29.
Edmonds said Lloyd’s judgment proved to be on point as he proudly watched Houtzen beat many of Australia’s best sprinters in The Everest, which was run in 1:08.36.
“She ran great. She only got back three lengths so she went super,” Edmonds said.
Australian Turf Club chairman Laurie Macri has flagged the possibility of The Everest being run under lights next year and adding even more money to the rich purse in years four and five of the race.
The Everest day generated NSW TAB betting turnover of more than $28 million on Randwick, a record for a Sydney race meeting.