AN AUSTRALIAN wonderhorse is being tipped to smash the £10MILLION earnings mark by winning at Royal Ascot ‘eased down’.
Superstar sprinter Nature Strip is the current 11-4 second-favourite for the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes on Tuesday.
The best sprinter in the world!
With six Group 1s already banked, Nature Strip was back with an easy win at Randwick earlier…
The Everest is the big target! pic.twitter.com/3iuzJisuET
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 4, 2021
Trained by Chris Waller, the seven-year-old gelding won £3.8million with victory in The Everest at Randwick last October.
And he warmed up for Ascot by routing rivals in the Group 1 Furphy TJ Smith Stakes in April before flying over to continue preparations at Lambourn.
His latest win was worth just shy of £850,000.
Victory in the King’s Stand brings with it a cheque for £283,550 – and career earnings smashing the £10m mark.
Only Mishriff, of all the horses still in training with earnings of more than £11m, can boast to have earned connections more.
While Nature Strip might be a new name to punters here, one jockey who has seen his frightening speed and power up close is Blake Spriggs.
He told Sun Racing the horse is so good he has the potential to win the five-furlong race ‘eased down’.
This despite Wesley Ward’s 2-1 favourite Golden Pal being labelled the ‘fastest of the fast’ by the trainer himself.
Spriggs said: “It’s just a matter of if the best of Nature Strip turns up.
“If the best of him turns up he’ll jump, lead and win eased down. He has such a high cruising speed.
“That’s not being arrogant but just knowing he’s a special talent. But I know those races are always hard to win.
“The Everest attracts our best sprinters so his win in that is as good as it gets.
“He has also won down the straight in Melbourne so he ticks a few boxes. At 3-1 he represents great value.”
Legendary Australian jockey Glen Boss also backed up Nature Strip’s credentials, saying ‘his best is too good’.
Boss said: “He has been the most dominant world-class sprinter for the last two years and we have the best sprinters in the world.
“He only has to be a length off his best to brain them all. He is simply the best.
“He will be very strong at the end of the race up the hill.
“I reckon he’s a great seven-furlong horse to be honest, so that will suit right down to the ground.”
King’s Stand Stakes
2-1 Golden Pal
11-4 Nature Strip
6-1 Twilight Calls
12-1 Man Of Promise
12-1 King’s Lynn
14-1 Winter Power
14-1 Mooneista
16-1 Khaadem
20-1 bar