Canberra trainer Matt Dale will wait for more details to emerge about Australia's first $10 million horse race before deciding if he will set stable star Fell Swoop for the race known as "The Everest".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Fell Swoop will make his comeback to the track at Thoroughbred Park on Friday with the five-year-old set to join the Nick Olive-trained Single Gaze in a barrier trial.
Fell Swoop will likely have his next race in Melbourne, but a lucrative opportunity at Randwick on October 14 is at the back of Dale's mind after plans for "The Everest" were announced this week.
Owners will be able to buy spots in the 12-horse field for $600,000 per year and they must make a three-year commitment.
The $10 million race, which will be run over 1200m, will be worth almost $4 million more than the Melbourne Cup and will be the richest race on turf in the world.
The prospect of claiming a slice of the prizepool is mouth-watering, but Dale wants more information.
"It just dropped from the sky yesterday and there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered in regards to the process," Dale said.
"The initial thoughts are that it's exciting because I've got a weight-for-age horse that's a 1200m sprinter that's competitive every time we put him around.
"That's exciting. But there are big questions marks over the way the entry fee works and that will be explained over the next week or so.
"It's very intricate ... you start talking about those type of dollars, it's exciting. I don't have too much information about the concept though so we're still working it out."
Fell Swoop and Single Gaze, Canberra's top two horses, are being set for campaigns in Sydney and Melbourne.
Their barrier trial will follow Thoroughbred Park's regular Friday meeting, with sisters Kathy O'Hara and Tracy to ride against each other for the first time in more than two years in the last race of the day.
Fell Swoop will run in Melbourne first up on either the 18th or 25th of February. The gelding's last race as a third place in the $1 million Darley Classic in November.
Dale is also looking for more stars to add to his stable and will go to the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale on February 11-12.
Daley's four highest-earning horses have come through the sales over the years, including Fell Swoop, and he'll have 600 lots to choose from.
Dale paid $45,000 for Fell Swoop in at the 2013 sales and has already won more than $1 million in prizemoney.
"It's exciting to have [Fell Swoop] back towards the races, he's our headline act and runs at the top level all the time," Dale said.
Dale bought Mossman Gorge for $90,000 at the sales last year and the two-year-old colt will run in the Black Opal Stakes Hopsitality handicap (1000m) on Friday.
"We don't go to the Inglis sales with any preconceived ideas, we cull them down on paper and pick the most suitable candidates," Dale said.
"The new kid on the block is Mossman Gorge ... but a Fell Swoop doesn't come around very often."
