He might have achieved everything his connections ever dreamed about, but Nature Strip’s trainer Chris Waller feels the superstar sprinter has two more Everests left in him.
The seven-year-old is the best short-distance horse in the world, has won nine Group 1 titles and turns eight in November.
There is nothing more for him to prove.
But part-owner Rod Lyons said the evergreen veteran, under master trainer Waller, could finish his remarkable career with three Everest titles.
Already with $18.5 million in prizemoney to his name and The Everest worth $15 million in total, Nature Strip is on track to retire with some serious cash.
Lyons believes his ability to continue learning as he ages – like the way he beautifully sat off the pace before comfortably leaving the opposition in his wake during the Shorts on Saturday – will help him with his racing longevity.
“In the hands of a genius like Chris, he has brought that horse to where he is today,” Lyons told Sky Racing.
“And he believes, fingers crossed – racing can be a cruel, fickle game – we’ve got a good 12 to 18 months still in him.
“Hopefully that string to his bow he showed on Saturday – where he can take a sit before finishing off the race – is looking great for the future.”
Indeed, it was Waller who told Lyons that Nature Strip is only getting wiser as he gets older, after he won first-up on Saturday following his breathtaking King’s Stand Stakes victory at Royal Ascot on June 14.
They were both left in awe – along with racing fans all over Australia and the world – at the ease their sprinter found another gear late on the straight to salute by 1 ½ lengths in the Group 2 Shorts at Randwick.
“It was fantastic. It was a real buzz watching him, and remembering he was first-up for 14 weeks after going halfway around the world and back,” Lyons said.
“Four weeks in quarantine, one trial. So there’s a heap of improvement to come from him.
“And to see him travel that way and to relax behind them and run past a very good horse in Eduardo, it was a wonderful thrill.”
Expert racing judges believed Nature Strip might not have been able to find an extra gear – in the fashion he put away arch-rival Eduardo late in the 1100m Shorts – even just a couple of years ago.
But after his Shorts triumph, Nature Strip now looks like a complete sprinter.
“I asked Chris has he got any better. He said he couldn’t get any better, but he’s got a bit smarter,” Lyons said.
Lyons said Waller, trackwork rider Stuart Williams and superstar jockey James McDonald have all made invaluable contributions to make Nature Strip the world’s top-rated sprinter.
“As fate would have it, we’ve ended up with one of the greatest trainers Australia is ever going to see,” Lyons said.
“And Chris has just worked with him, worked with him. Stuey who rides him in work all the time has done an enormous job with him.
“And James coming down and riding him in work – they’ve done so much work with him.
“And in the hands of a genius like Chris, he has brought that horse to where he is today.”
Nature Strip is a $2 favourite to win the Everest with the top online bookmakers in Australia, with Lost and Running ($6) on the next line of betting.
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