Premier jockey James McDonald will ride Joliestar in the $20 million The Everest (1200m) on Saturday at Randwick as he bids for his second win in the richest race on turf.
McDonald, No.1 on the world jockey rankings, had been in line to ride either Joliestar or another Chris Waller-trained mare, Lady Shenandoah, in the race.
Joliestar and James McDonald cruise to victory in the Shorts at Randwick.Credit: Getty Images
Waller stable representative Darren Beadman said on Saturday that the decision would be made via consultation between McDonald, Waller and Victorian jockey Damian Lane, who will now ride Lady Shenandoah.
McDonald, who won the 2021 Everest on the Waller-trained Nature Strip, has a strong association with both stars but was locked in for Joliestar on Tuesday ahead of tonight’s barrier draw reveal.
Victorian rider Ben Melham was already booked for Waller’s other Everest runner, Angel Capital.
Joliestar has been on or around the second line of betting for the Everest behind odds-on favourite Ka Ying Rising since McDonald steered her to a dominant win in the $1 million The Shorts (1100m) on September 20 at Randwick. He has since ridden her well back in the Randwick trial where Ka Ying Rising finished third, and she hits the race second-up.
Joliestar is the only runner from last year’s Everest field returning this year and fills the Chris Waller Racing slot. The five-year-old Zoustar mare was seventh in 2024, but only one and a half lengths away from winner Bella Nipotina.
McDonald’s ride was a key final piece in the Everest puzzle.
The jockey has also enjoyed great success with four-year-old Lady Shenandoah, which soared up Everest markers after a luckless second in the $1 million Concorde Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on September 6. She will race in the Fairway Thoroughbreds slot.