Waller’s climb to the peak

TRAINER Chris Waller concedes Sydney’s super sprinter Nature Strip won’t get a better opportunity to win the $15m The TAB Everest than this spring carnival.

“This is Nature Strip’s best chance to win The Everest,’’ Waller said. “He is in close to career-best form and racing so tractably now.

“It is certainly good to think we are going to The Everest this far out with a horse that is on song.’’

Nature Strip has been selected for the fourth successive year to contest The Everest, run at Royal Randwick on October 16 – but the reigning Horse of the Year has yet to even place in the world’s richest turf race.

He ran seventh behind Classique Legend last year and fourth to Yes Yes Yes in 2019.

The gelding was withdrawn from the big race in 2018 after a disappointing lead-up run.

Nature Strip takes another significant step towards The Everest when he contests the Group 2 $500,000 The Shorts (1100m) at Royal Randwick.

The Shorts is shaping as a “mini-everest” with six of the seven selected sprinters lining up in the race – Nature Strip, Masked Crusader, Eduardo, Gytrash, Rothfire and Lost And Running.

Nature Strip goes into Saturday’s sprint after a brilliant first-up win in the Concorde Stakes earlier this month.

Although the big chestnut is now a seven-year-old and a veteran of 31 starts (17 wins), he showed his usual dazzling speed and trademark enthusiasm for racing in his new season return.

The result of The Shorts will either endorse or reshape existing Everest betting where Nature Strip has been favourite at $4.50 with TAB fixed odds since winning the TJ Smith Stakes earlier this year.