Joliestar may have punched her ticket into The Everest after she demolished her rivals in the Group 3 Show County Quality first-up at Randwick on Saturday.
The Chris Waller-trained mare was well-backed in the lead-up to her fresh run, following two impressive trials, which saw her jump as the +150 favourite with online bookmakers.
The daughter of Zoustar was given a top ride by James McDonald, as she settled midfield off the fence and was kept out of trouble before the final turn.
McDonald allowed his mount to balance up at the 400m mark, but once he released the brakes and asked for a burst of acceleration, Joliestar sprinted away from her rivals.
Even though she was eased up with over 50m to go, Joliestar still claimed a 2.9-length victory over Our Kobison (+300) and Phearson (+5000), who filled the placings, but they were no match for the talented sprinter.
2024 Show County Quality replay – Joliestar
The master trainer, Chris Waller, was on course to speak about the win post-race.
“She’s very good, she’s well named, she’s a star,” Waller said of Joliestar.
“She was dominant in the Arrowfield in the Autumn.
“The owners, Brendan and Joe, have looked after her so well and have been so patient and they’re reaping the rewards now.
“It does help with looking towards slot interest, but most importantly, see how she comes through it, and wherever she goes, she’s going to be a star.
“I’m still learning, learnt a lot today.
“I think she was in her comfort zone over 1200m, I was pleased that we didn’t run her over 1100m, we’ll just see what James thinks.”
James McDonald echoed the thoughts of Waller in his post-race interview.
“I expected her to win, but not with that much ease, she executed really well,” McDonald said.
“She’s been working like a really, really good horse at home, and it’s been hard work containing her but they’ve done a really good job.
“It’s been really nice to let the shackles off, so to speak and let her rip.
“She does what she has to.
“I really like her, we won’t go off too early, but she’s well on her way.
“It’ll be interesting to see where the bossman places her, she’s got some big targets, she could go for anything.”
Joliestar is an +700 second favourite for The Everest with top online horse betting sites.
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