Kerrin McEvoy is confident that Growing Empire can deliver him a record-breaking fourth win in Saturday’s The Everest (1200m).
McEvoy, the only jockey to have competed in every edition of the $20 million sprint, will be riding Growing Empire for the first time this weekend.
The Ciaron Maher-trained colt, racing in Yulong’s slot, had a strong run of four consecutive stakes victories before narrowly missing out on Group 1 success, finishing second to Southport Tycoon in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m).
“He’s an improving colt, and he’s got a good amount of brilliance and class about him,” McEvoy told Racing NSW.
“I had my first sit on him on Friday, and I was quite taken by him. He’s travelled up in good shape. It’s a great race, an open race, but one thing he’s shown the racing world already is he’s an exciting colt that’s on the improve.
“He’s one of the least experienced in the race, but he was great against the older horses in the Manikato, chasing what I’d call an above-average speed.
“He kicked off that and was only just collared.”
McEvoy also highlighted the colt’s versatility:
“You’d like to think he’s a little bit versatile, whether he’s in front or behind a couple.
“One thing I know he has is a good turn of foot, so we’ll be trying to ride him to that advantage.”
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