Spicy Martini set for The Everest after deal struck

Victorious in the Stradbroke Handicap, Spicy Martini has now secured her starting position in the highly anticipated Group 1 $20 million The TAB Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Toby Edmonds has officially announced that a deal has been finalised with slot-holder Inglis, confirming Spicy Martini's place in the globally renowned richest turf race, scheduled for October 17.

This marks the second occasion Edmonds will have a runner in The Everest; his previous representative was the exceptional filly Houtzen in the race's inaugural running in 2017, where she finished seventh behind Redzel.

"When Houtzen ran in The Everest, I think a lot of people were sceptical about the race and whether it would last," Edmonds told Racing And Sports. "But The Everest has become a worldwide phenomenon so it is great to be involved again."

Spicy Martini represents a genuine racing "fairytale", a five-year-old mare purchased by Edmonds for a modest $8000 from an Inglis Digital online platform as a yearling.

Her impressive career statistics include six victories from 13 starts, accumulating $2.73 million in prize money.

Now, Spicy Martini is set to compete in The Everest, the world's most lucrative turf race.

"We were looking for a daughter of Justify and my partner, Holly (Penfold), noticed this filly online," Edmonds explained.

"I trained her half-sister, Strong Martini, who had a lot of ability but had a few injury issues."

"We were expecting to go to $20,000 or $30,000 to get the filly so we were pleasantly surprised to get her for just $8000."

Sebastian Hutch, Inglis Bloodstock's chief executive, conveyed his excitement about securing Spicy Martini for The Everest slot.

"We have had an eye on her for some time and believe she is capable of posting a career best effort in The Everest," Hutch commented.

"One of the most significant things for us wanting to chase her for our slot is she has run a new peak figure each start this year – including a Group 1 victory in The Stradbroke - which tells us she is headed on an upward trajectory and is continually improving and nobody knows where her ceiling is yet.

"She is versatile, having won on everything from a Good 4 to a Heavy 10, she can settle on pace or come from worse than midfield, she's a dual winner at 1200m but is also a Group 1 winner at 1400m which we believe is a significant advantage in an Everest.

"She was huge first-up when crossing the line alongside Joliestar and being less than a length from winning The Shorts and we feel the race will bring out the best in her.

"Inglis graduates have won six runnings of The Everest and we have run 2nd and 3rd with runners in our slot, so we are excited to have another crack at the race in 2026."

Holly Penfold, the managing owner of Spicy Martini, lauded the mare's "incredibly brave and durable" nature.

"The day she won the Stradbroke back in June, we decided she was going to run at Randwick on October 17, it was just a matter of whether that was going to be in the Sydney Stakes or The Everest and here we are now with an Everest slot thanks to Inglis and we couldn't be more excited," Penfold said.

"We bought this horse on Inglis Digital for $8000, she's already won us $2.7m from 13 starts and now she's running in a $20m race.

"It's legitimately unbelievable really, an absolute fairytale. I never dreamed we'd be running in a $20m race but here we are.

"The Inglis marketing team made a nice video of Spicy [Martini] after she won the Stradbroke and Sebastian sent it to me and I replied 'there's an even better video to be made after The Everest' and we've just stayed in contact since then.

"Inglis wanted to see her return well to show she was back, which is completely valid, and her run in The Shorts certainly proved that. She ran extremely well first-up despite having one shoe ripped off and two others shifting.

"We're going into The Everest with confidence. We know she'll be a big price but she always is, she's always underestimated and she always overperforms and we wouldn't have it any other way."

The Stradbroke Handicap has a strong historical link to The Everest, with Think About It achieving the double in 2023. Trekking also claimed the 2019 Stradbroke before securing third place in The Everest that same year.

Edmonds commented that Spicy Martini exhibited talent early on but required time for development and maturation.

"We have taken our time with her and she keeps improving," Edmonds stated.

"I don't think we have seen the best of her yet, either."

Edmonds confirmed that jockey Taylor Marshall is slated to ride Spicy Martini in The Everest.

"Taylor gets on well with the mare, he won the Stradbroke on her," Edmonds added.

Spicy Martini is scheduled to remain at Edmonds' Gold Coast stables until Everest week, at which point Edmonds will personally escort the mare to Sydney, where she will be stabled at Peter Snowden's Randwick facility.

Spicy Martini becomes the fifth confirmed participant in The Everest, joining Ka Ying Rising (representing the Hong Kong Jockey Club), Ninja (Fairway Thoroughbreds), Headwall (Max Whitby, Neil Werrett, Col Madden, Steve McCann), and Blue Door (Newgate).

With the field for The Everest taking shape, racing enthusiasts are keen to explore the available racing betting markets.