Yes Yes Yes wins The Everest and scoops record $4.8 million prize
Yes Yes Yes and her jockey, Glen Boss, upset favorite Santa Ana Lane to win the prestigious Everest race, winning a record $4.8 million in prize money.
The victorious three-year-old colt is trained by Chris Waller, the man that led the now-retired Winx to its unbeaten, 33-race run.
The Everest — held at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse — was offering a total prize pot of $9.6 million, making it the world’s richest turf race, behind only the $12 million Dubai World Cup and the new $20 million Saudi Cup, which are both staged on dirt.
Such are the riches on offer, that even the horse in last place, Ten Sovereigns, won $275,000.
“I promise you, that was one hell of an experience,” Boss told reporters after the race. “It was very surreal. I had a plan in my head about what I wanted to do and Chris was in my corner on how I wanted to ride the horse.
“What I’m getting emotional about is the ride she took us on.”
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Saturday’s six-furlong sprint, which took around a minute to complete, is the showpiece of the Everest Carnival, which celebrates both on-track success and the stylish lifestyle that thrives in the grandstands.
Pre-race favorite Santa Ana Lane came second and Nature Strip, part-owned by New Zealand rugby head coach Steve Hansen, finished fourth.
The Everest is inspired by the lucrative Pegasus World Cup — formerly the world’s richest race — and requires owners to buy one of the 12 starting gates for about $400,000.
These “slot” owners can then either decide to race their own horses or strike deals with other owners to rent their horses, and then divide any potential winnings.
Since its inauguration in 2017, one horse had won the race in its first two years. Australian wonder horse Redzel defended its crown in 2018 — winning a staggering $9 million in the process.
But the speedster was unable to make it three in a row and finished eighth.
