I Wish I win slotted to conquer The Everest

Sir Edmund Hillary gained fame when he partnered with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay to conquer Mount Everest; now 70 years later another New Zealander has the chance to honour that feat in thoroughbred racing’s equivalent, The Everest.
Thanks to a partnership instigated by TAB NZ’s strategic partner Entain, Waikato Stud-bred and owned I Wish I Win will take his place in the Randwick showpiece sprint on October 14, which for its seventh edition will boast a stake of A$20 million.
The Everest was unveiled in 2017 as a unique A$10 million race largely funded by 12 slot-holders stumping up A$600,000 for a spot in the field. The final field comprises horses directly connected to the slot-holder as well as those whose connections have negotiated with a slot-holder, and The Everest has grown organically to now be the world’s second richest horse-race.
I Wish I Win, whose stunning last-start victory in the Gr. 1 T J Smith Stakes established his place at the top of Australian sprinting ranks, will carry the Waikato Stud colours under the Trackside Media banner following negotiations to secure the Inglis slot. For principal owner Mark Chittick, it was an easy decision to connect with the first ever New Zealand entity with direct access to a slot.
“After winning the T J Smith, I Wish I Win was being talked about as a leading candidate for The Everest and we had been talking to various parties,” Chittick told RaceForm earlier this week. “Some came and went over the past couple of months and we took it step by step without ever feeling we had to make a quick decision.
“Then this came along, the idea of partnering in the Entain/TAB slot, and we said ‘Whoa, let’s put the brakes on!’ It really was a no-brainer, the idea of making it a total New Zealand package was just perfect.”
I Wish I Win was a three-race winner and twice Group One placed from nine starts at two and three years for Jamie Richards when Chittick decided to send him to Australia. The Savabeel gelding had quite a back-story long before he had made a winning debut, having been born with a severely distorted near-side foreleg.
That ruled out any chance of a yearling sale preparation and instead he was left to grow out in the Waikato Stud store paddocks. Mother Nature played her part and I Wish I win is now the winner of six of his 16 starts and stakes of more than A$7.75 million.
His trainer for the past year has been Peter Moody, best known for the brilliant unbeaten sprinter Black Caviar, who also shares in the ownership with Chittick.
“The only non-Kiwi part of this story is Moods, but we feel he’s one of us really,” Chittick says. “His wife Sarah is a Kiwi and she never lets him forget that, and he’s been closely connected to a lot of us here in New Zealand for a long time.
“We’re taking the attitude that I Wish I Win is going to be part of a massive event for the whole of Australasian racing, which is also reflected in Entain Australia being such a big part of the joint venture with our TAB.
“Let’s face it, we’ve lived for the past two decades with very little positive news, trying to talk it up by ourselves. Now Entain has come on board and in a very short time things have turned around with significant stakes increases and other initiatives like this deal for The Everest. That’s fantastic, it’s the best news we’ve had in years!”
Entain New Zealand Managing Director Cameron Rodger is thrilled that the partnership with I Wish I Win has become a reality.
“We’re going to throw everything behind it, we couldn’t wish for a better opportunity to engage with Racing New South Wales and what has quickly become its flagship race,” Rodger told RaceForm.
“Trackside is the jewel in the crown, we’re focused on building it, making it bigger and better, and what better way than through such a high-profile horse as I Wish I Win. Getting our Kiwi customers interested and engaged in a race like The Everest is massive.”
In the few days since the announcement, Chittick has quickly come to realise the gravity of what’s coming. “I was down in Wanaka on a family holiday when the news broke last week and there we were with people not even connected to racing being aware of it and saying ‘Well done’.
“Those of us in racing know what the build-up is like in that final week before a big race, but here we are with still three months to go and it’s already started.
“All these people saying they want to come along for the ride and be part of it is already pretty over-whelming, so imagine what’s it going to be like when the countdown really begins?”