Triple Group 1 winner Lady Shenandoah is the latest horse to be locked in for The Everest, with John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds utilising its slot to secure the four-year-old.
Lady Shenandoah, a winner of the Flight Stakes, Surround Stakes and Coolmore Classic during her three-year-old campaign, resumed in the Concorde Stakes where she was unlucky in being narrowly beaten by Headwall.
While her Group 1 winning form is over further distances, she was destined for The Everest, on her way to taking on the $10 million Golden Eagle later in the spring.
Fairway Thoroughbreds, which purchased its Everest slot from Aquis in 2024, was set to utilise its slot on Sunshine in Paris, who ran fifth in the race last year. But she suffered a mishap and has now been retired to the breeding barn.
It opened a door for Chris Waller and Hermitage Thoroughbreds to find a way into the race after stablemate Joliestar was locked in by Waller’s own slot last week.
“We are thrilled to see Lady Shenandoah gain a spot in this year’s Everest,” Shannon Clarke, Manager of Hermitage Thoroughbreds said.
“It’s race that captures the imagination of the racing world, and to be represented by a mare of her calibre is a great honour.”
She is equal second favourite at $7.
There are now six horses locked in for The Everest, including short-price favourite Ka Ying Rising ($1.70). As well as the two Waller mares, the reaming confirmed starters are Briasa, Private Harry and Jimmysstar.
The confirmation of Lady Shenandoah’s slot came on the same day the horse which beat her in her fist-up assignment, Headwall, was ruled out for the spring.
Trainer Matthew Smith confirmed Headwall was lame in the hind leg after trackwork on Saturday morning and would undergo further tests.
Warwick Barr
