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John Oshea’s top class sprinter Lost And Runnings admission to the quintessentially Australian The Everest has left a few stunned racegoers.
The lightly raced 5YO gelding was touted by the trainer to be Everest class immediately after his first two starts. But O’Shea’s efforts came to fruition when slot holder Tabcorp selected the son of Per Incanto as their 2021 runner in the A$15m race.
The Everest Diaries chats with Tabcorp’s managing director Wagering And Media about their contender, his favourite racehorse and how The Everest has grown over the last five years.
Q: What were your deciding factors when you chose Lost and Running as your Everest contender?
A: We put together a team that decides who we want to run for us in TAB’s slot. We always look for a talented sprinter that has exposed wet weather form. And we also look for an interesting angle to the horse - a story that our customers can relate to and want to be a part of. With Lost and Running he broke the track record on debut, his ratings have continued to climb with each start and his trainer, John O’Shea, is adamant he’s the best sprinter he has trained.
Lost and Running has attracted a big group of fans, and there’ll be more as he adds to his record. We are looking forward to TAB customers coming along for the ride and participating in some of the initiatives we have got planned.
Q: The Everest has already completed its first half-decade, according to you, what is the most exciting thing for you about Everest 2021?
A: On the racing front, this year is shaping up as a battle between the older guard of established sprinters such as Nature Strip, Classique Legend, the budding superstars such as Masked Crusader and our runner Lost and Running and the new brigade such as Stay Inside.
The race continues to go from strength to strength. We are proud to be a part of it as sponsor and a slot holder, and the build-up to it will be huge again this year. The slot holder concept means the race gets talked about year-round and attracts attention from traditional and new racing fans, including the younger audience.
We hope the race can be held with a big crowd this year. Whatever happens we’ll be bringing fans unrivalled coverage through TAB and Sky Racing Active apps. We’ll use digital the channels and our TAB venues to engage customers with exclusive offers and experiences including competitions and promotions centered around the TAB Everest and Lost and Running.
Internationally we expect to bring the race to 64 countries and the Hong Kong Jockey Club will be simulcasting the race for the first time.
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Q: With the de-coupling of TAB and Tabcorp Holdings’ other businesses, will there be any impact on your Everest slot holder-ship?
A: We don’t foresee any impact at all. TAB will remain Australia’s biggest and best-known multi-channel wagering brand and it makes sense for us to continue our successful association with the race.
Q: Which is your favourite racehorse and racecourse of all time? Why?
A: I don’t think you can go past Winx. Winning 33 consecutive races – including 25 at Group 1 level – is an extraordinary achievement. I have been lucky enough to see some of her victories live on course including her final run in 2019 when she won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes for the third time.
She may not have been the TAB bookmakers’ favourite horse, but she was certainly mine!