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Six in and six to go….Chris Scholtz looks at the contenders and pretenders in line to fill the remaining available slots in the $13 million Everest at Randwick in October.

There really are no surprises among the six horses already claimed by Everest slot holders to represent them in the world’s richest sprint race at Randwick in October.

When English joined the confirmed list this week she became the third starter from the inaugural Everest last October to be given a second chance in the 1200m sprint, now worth $13 million.

The other done deals with last year’s Everest runners so far cover the inaugural winner Redzel and Brave Smash, the Japanese import who finished third. English finished sixth last year.

In Her Time, the Newcastle-trained mare who was unlucky not to make The Everest field last year, has no such worries in 2018 as she is also among the early slot holder selections for this year’s race.

And it was obvious Everest slot holders were always going to be hot on securing the star three-year-olds Trapeze Artist and Shoals after their Group One heroics against older rivals during the autumn.

So, with the 2018 Everest still more than three months down the track, half the field is already locked away with the following six horses to race for slot holders in partnership with their registered owners:-

REDZEL (Slot Holder - Yulong Investments): BRAVE SMASH (Chris Waller Racing); ENGLISH (Damion Flower); IN HER TIME (Tabcorp); TRAPEZE ARTIST (Aquis Farm); SHOALS (The Star).

The Everest slot holders yet to secure a horse to represent them in 2018 are the Australian Turf Club; Coolmore Stud; GPI Racing; James Harron Bloodstock; Inglis; and Max Whitby.

Those six slot holders can wait until as late as October 10, three days out from the race, to declare their runner.

It’s a time frame that throws them into a game of intrigue as they wheel and deal their way through a maze of negotiations with the connections of horses on their Everest short lists.

Do they shop early for fear of losing a frontline contender to another slot holder? Or do they play the waiting game in the belief that it will put them in the box seat to take advantage of the unexpected twists and turns that invariably have an impact on an event of this nature.

Things will become very tricky indeed, as the list of Everest contenders behind the six horses already selected is a wide and eclectic group of varying ages, some boasting proven qualifications and others very much in the untapped potential basket.

Firstly let’s deal with the young horses that could have been considered worthy Everest runners in 2018 but for one reason or another won’t be with us this spring.

Using Australian Timeform ratings as a base starting point, there are no less than 11 horses among the top 20 rated two and three-year-olds at the end of the last racing season (2016-17) no longer competing due to early retirements.

Consider what a line-up we could have had for the 2018 Everest if the likes of Flying Artie, Astern, Extreme Choice, Impending, Star Turn, Russian Revolution, Winning Rupert, Thronum, Inference, Pariah and Invader – all retired over the last 12 months to start stud careers - were still racing.

Of course the latest, and surely the biggest, loss is last weekend’s Royal Ascot winner Merchant Navy.

His retirement to start his breeding career this spring is a telling blow to Everest promoters who would have hoped - if not secretly believed - the lure of $13 million prizemoney would be enough to extend the racing career of top class young stallions like this Coolmore-owned colt.

Not so. The lesson is that regardless of current form, a high profile Everest slot holder like Coolmore will always put the economic realities of the breeding industry first when dealing with one of their own $20 million stallion investments.

The bottom line for Coolmore is why wait another 12 months to retire Merchant Navy when the 150 or more mares he will serve this spring at a fee of $55,000 will eventually outstrip whatever he could earn by racing in The Everest?

At this point we should refer to the three high class 2YOs from last season that were picked up by slot holders to run in the inaugural Everest as early 3YOs.

I refer to the 2017 Golden Slipper Stakes winner She Will Reign, 2017 Magic Millions Classic winner Houtzen and the Golden Slipper placed filly Tulip.

Sure they were worthy runners, but on the day these three fillies were quickly exposed by the intense race pressure applied by their older rivals.

Houtzen finished seventh and She Will Reign a disappointing eleventh in the select field of 12. Tulip, a Coolmore-owned filly, did best of the age group to finish fifth.

She Will Reign’s name is again in the mix as a possible Everest runner this year while the Lindsay Park stable is yet to reveal spring plans for Tulip and stablemates Catchy and Formality. In reality they all need to show marked improvement on their autumn form to be regarded as serious Everest players while Houtzen has already been ruled out of a repeat appearance.

The point here is that after last year’s Everest result it is unlikely slot holders will rush to do a deal with members of the current 2YO crop.

They certainly don’t have to worry about this year’s Magic Millions Classic winner Sunlight, ruled out after her trainer Tony McEvoy unequivocally declared The Everest is a bridge too far for a 3YO filly in the early spring.

That leaves Golden Slipper winner Estijaab, the Team Hawkes-trained filly cast very much in the same mould as She Will Reign and Houtzen, and the Blue Diamond Stakes winner Written By as the two youngsters – when assessed on current Timeform ratings – as the pair most worthy of consideration for Everest berths among this season’s juveniles.

However I doubt slot holders will make an early move on Estijaab or Written By until they see them perform at least once as 3YOs as insurance that they have progressed as expected from the autumn.

I suspect the slot holders still searching for their Everest runner will concentrate on a far deeper pool of talent among the current crop of rising 4YOs to fill several of the remaining six berths.

The current 3YOs with the form, ratings and potential to be worthy Everest runners include Trapeze Artists’s stablemate Menari, Godolphin’s outstanding colt Kementari and the very much under scored Pierata.

This high class trio are ideal Everest types but rating not far behind them would be Showtime, Perast and the exciting prospect Nature Strip based on his near record performance over 1100m at Flemington last Saturday.

There is also a wildcard in this age group in the filly Invincible Star. She is a veteran of only five starts and has not been seen since she finished second to Merchant Navy in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington last spring.

If she makes an early return in the new season she is certainly one horse Everest slot holders will be keeping a close eye on, certainly more than another filly Champagne Cuddles after she dashed her place among the serious contenders with her disappointing Stradbroke Handicap performance.

Among the current 4YO crop we also have several interesting possibles who, if they show the right form in lead-up races, would be on the radar of slot holders still looking for a representative.

A fresh Australian Guineas and Manikato Stakes winner Hey Doc comes readily to mind if he is over issues that cut short his autumn program while the multiple G1 winner Global Glamour is another worthy of an Everest berth on her best figures.

Global Glamour would be preferred to her stablemate Prompt Response who, despite her deserving G1 win in last Saturday’s Tatts Tiara, holds form only against her own sex and should be looked on as a vulnerable mare in genuine top class wfa company.

It’s worth noting that at least one slot holder showed interest in the unbeaten Perth mare Enticing Star after her seventh successive win at Belmont on June 16 but that has been hosed down with her owner Bob Peters advising she has now been spelled.

Among the older horses there are several notables that would be automatic inclusions on their best form, not the least being Chautauqua, Australia’s former champion sprinter and fourth in the inaugural Everest after a Brenton Avdulla ride that drew its share of critics.

Unfortunately the big grey gelding is now very much a headache horse for the Hawkes stable after his autumn campaign was ruined by his inexplicable refusal to leave the gates in trials.

It’s anybody’s guess what we will get from Chautauqua when he next appears. No doubt he still has the talent, but is his head in the right place? Only time will tell….

The time factor is also in play with Redkirk Warrior after his failure at Royal Ascot last Saturday. Reports suggest he is staying in the UK to contest the July Cup at Newmarket, a plan that will place him on a tight schedule to return to Australia and have a suitable preparation for the Everest.

He can only be considered a marginal Everest player at best as he is now recognized as a specialist straight course sprinter, his tenth in last year’s Everest a fair reflection of his lesser form when racing around turns.

One horse that surely is in the sights of slot holders is the top shelf 5YO Le Romain, one of our most consistent and versatile sprinter-milers over the last two seasons.

Le Romain did nothing to harm his reputation in the best races through the recent Sydney and Brisbane carnivals when he held his own against Trapeze Artist, Redzel and English.

The multiple Group One winner ticks a lot of Everest boxes with his proven Group One record at Randwick on all types of going.

Likewise it would be hard to deny that Anthony Freedman’s triple Group One winner Santa Ana Lane doesn’t deserve his place in The Everest alongside stablemate Shoals after his historic Goodwood/Stradbroke double that has propelled him close to the top of the sprint rankings.

Darren Weir may also have a second Japanese import worthy of joining Brave Smash in the Everest line-up in Danon Liberty, the 6YO who was heavily backed to win the Stradbroke first-up only to miss out on a start when drawn as an emergency.

Redkirk Warrior’s Lindsay Park-trained stablemate Vega Magic started favourite in the inaugural Everest. The majority opinion after he finished second to Redzel is that he may well have won with a better judged ride from Craig Williams.

Vega Magic was flying at the start of this season but has not made the same impact in just three race starts since his Everest second, leaving the jury out on his claims to a berth this year until he shows a positive return to top form.

Vega Magic is scheduled to meet Danon Liberty in the Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield on July 28 in a clash that will throw a lot of light on their Everest claims.

Winx’s sparring partner and top class miler Happy Clapper is an interesting case for an Everest berth.

His trainer Pat Webster says the big gelding, now rising eight, would be a big show in the Everest if he was tackling the race fresh up.

However Webster needs an early deal to be struck with a slot holder so he can set that program in place as he has too many other spring options with Happy Clapper to wait for a last minute Everest call.

The pool of older Everest possibles has been diminished over the last 12 months by the retirements of Hellbent, Spieth and Tivaci.

Also five-time G1 winner Black Heart Bart has a spring program that is taking him on a different path and Clearly Chosen, Deploy and Fell Swoop have lost the form that earned them berths in the Everest last year.

The connections of some good older sprinters such as Malaguerra, Supido, Super Cash, Viddora, Rock Magic, Voodoo Lad, Takedown and Jungle Edge may think they have a case to mount for Everest inclusion, but at this point in time they are only pretenders and a long way from serious consideration for a call up before the October 10 deadline.