By Trevor Marshallsea, AAP
Seven-year-old Bella Nipotina has become the first female horse to win the $20 million The Everest (1200m), the world’s richest race on turf, with a narrow but tough victory at Randwick.
Ridden by Craig Williams and trained by Ciaron Maher, it was a real Cranbourne connection.
Maher trains out of Cranbourne and Williams grew up in town, with his father Alan Williams training there for many years.
Williams boldly took Bella Nipotina forward from the widest gate of 12 on Saturday and raced three-wide near the lead throughout before hanging on for a gritty triumph.
The daughter of Pride Of Dubai fended off the challenge to her inside of five-year-old gelding Giga Kick – who Williams rode to victory in this race two years ago – winning by 0.12 lengths, or around half a head.
Third home, 1.31 lengths from the winner, was three-year-old colt Growing Empire, with three-year-old filly Lady Of Camelot narrowly behind him in fourth.
Bred and raced by Collingwood 1990 AFL premiership star Michael Christian, Bella Nipotina drifted in betting to start at $9.
A veteran of 54 starts before Saturday, she earned connections $7 million with the victory, taking her career earnings to more than $25m.
Maher, who also trains Growing Empire, was emotional after his first win in the race before a packed crowd at Randwick.
“She’s a beautiful horse to train,” he told Channel 7.
“She’s been elite for the last five years and, yeah, it’s unbelievable.
“To do it this late in her career, after 54 starts, it’s unbelievable.
“We thought she was in career-best form and she got her conditions to suit.”
Williams said he and Maher had hatched a brave plan to go forward from the wide barrier knowing Bella Nipotina would likely have to cover extra ground travelling wide.
In a race packed with such quality opposition, more standard tactics would have been to conserve energy at the back of the field.
“Ciaron said, ‘Let’s trust her. We might be a bit wide but let’s not be negative. let’s be positive and let’s go’,” said Williams, who earned his jockey’s percentage of $350,000 for his 1 minute and 8.76 seconds of work.
“I’m very lucky in that I really know her, and going to the gates today, she was just moving so well for her.
“She was right in the zone.
“She’s never been in better form than she is now.
“Today she showed everyone how good and tough she is because she had no favours.”
Giga Kick started at $14, with Growing Empire $9 and Lady Of Camelot $41.
The Everest was run for the first time as a Group 1, the official top-tier status that had been previously denied it since its inception in 2017 due to its novel slot race format.
It not only attracted its largest contingent of female runners – six of the 12 starters – but now has its first female winner, after no mare or filly had previously finished better than fifth.
Under The Everest’s novel conditions, various entities buy “slots” in the race for $700,000 then seek a horse to fill it, negotiating with the horse’s owners how to split the prizemoney.
Joliestar, the $6 favourite, disappointed in finishing seventh while star sprinter I Wish I Win – the 2023 second-placegetter – came last at $8.50.
Godolphin colt Traffic Warden was a late scratching after becoming fractious in the starting gates.
In Saturday’s other Randwick G1 – the $5m King Charles III stakes (1600m) – reigning Australian Horse of the Year Pride Of Jenni, trained by Maher, attempted another bold front-running win but was collared late by Ceolwulf.
Ridden by Chad Schofield, the Joe Pride trained four-year-old made it back-to-back G1 wins, having taken out the Epsom Handicap over the same course on 5 October.
