Big Trial Success for Everest Favourite

Today’s second barrier trial at Rosehill Gardens saw just four runners, each from the powerful Chris Waller stable, with all eyes on Glyn Schofield as he partnered this season’s The Everest favourite Nature Strip (Nicconi-Strikeline, by Desert Sun) to a facile victory. Jumping straight to the lead, Schofield had a tight grip on the Horse of the Year and multiple Group 1 winner as he cruised around the 900m Rosehill circuit. The gun sprinter pulled away from Subpoenaed (Rip Van Winkle-Notice Received, by O’Reilly) to win the heat by just under 6.5-lengths to make an emphatic statement. Set to make his seasonal debut in the Gr3 Concorde Stakes at Randwick on September 4, Nature Strip will need to go one better than he did last year when run down by Gytrash (Lope de Vega) over the 1100m. Having already been secured to contest the Chris Waller Racing slot for the $15m The Everest (1200m) to be held on October 16, Nature Strip will be attempting the race for the third consecutive year, having finished fourth to stablemate Yes Yes Yes (Rubick) in 2019, then disappointing in 2020 with a seventh behind Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt).

Welcome back Nature Strip! The #TABEverest favourite put in a nice piece of work at Rosehill this morning, finishing ahead of stablemates Subpoenaed and September Run in a comfortable trial win. pic.twitter.com/pNgcbO0dXc

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 25, 2021