No Short cuts as pressure on The Everest 2023 heats up

It will be a case of sink or swim for at least half a dozen Everest hopefuls when they clash in a spectacular renewal of $1 million The Shorts.

A field of 12 will contest the Group 2 sprint and of those only Mazu is guaranteed a slot in next month’s $20 million spring carnival centrepiece.

In Secret needs to cement her claims as the No.1 seed for owners Godolphin following the outstanding The Run To The Rose victory last week of stablemate Cylinder, while rivals Private Eye, Lost And Running, Overpass, Buenos Noches, Remarque and Hawaii Five Oh will all be auditioning for a coveted Everest spot.

Adrian Bott, co-trainer of Hawaii Five Oh, has left no stone unturned in his bid to get the entire to The Shorts (1100m) in top order, knowing the horse’s performance in the feature will be critical.

“He’s had the two trials, he’s had a nice exhibition gallop in between and he seems in good shape,” Bott said.

“Saturday will be him giving us a line on his Everest credentials.

“A competitive run will see him going down the path of the Premiere (Stakes) and The Everest and that’s the path we’re looking at at this stage.”

Bott and training partner Gai Waterhouse – who it was announced this week will receive one of racing’s highest honours when she is elevated to Legend status in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame later this year – only took over the training of Hawaii Five Oh midway through his last campaign.

In four starts for the pair, the entire has posted a brace of Group 3 wins and finished third to Everest contender Think About It in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap, but this time they have advantage of starting the horse’s spring from a clean slate.

“We obviously picked him up mid-preparation last time, so we were racing him from that 1400-metre trip onwards,” Bott said.

“This time around we’ve been able to see if he can sharpen up at the start of the prep.

“We’re leaving everything to the racing to do the talking really. We’ve got him as sharp as we can, and he’ll be able to tell us whether he’s got the profile or not.”

Adam Hyeronimus partners Hawaii Five Oh ($11) who has drawn barrier five, immediately to the outside of $3 Unibet favourite In Secret.

Overpass has the inside gate and is on the second line of betting at $5.50, while first-up winners Remarque (barrier two) and Buenos Noches (three) are also prominent at $7 and $7.50 respectively.