Hawaii Five Oh secured a coveted spot in The Everest's (1200m) lineup late on Sunday, clinching a place in the $20 million race after his narrow defeat in the Group 2 Premiere Stakes (1200m) at Randwick, Sydney on Saturday.
Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, the four-year-old will proudly carry the colours of Aquis Farm in The Everest (1200m) on October 14, stepping in for the injured Sunshine In Paris.
This substitution was necessitated by Sunshine In Paris being ruled out for the spring, prompting slot-holder Tony Fung to seek an alternative.
Hawaii Five Oh delivered a close second-place finish to the frontrunner Think About It over the weekend. Think About It, set to compete in the Newgate-GPI slot, shares the top spot as a favorite for The Everest with Imperatriz, the victor of the Group 1 AJ Moir Stakes (1000m) on Friday night.
Mark Walker, the trainer for Imperatriz from Te Akau Racing, suggested once again that the mare is likely to stay in Melbourne for the remainder of the spring.
Sally Williams, racing manager for Tony Fung Investments, confirmed that Hawaii Five Oh, owned by Gerry Harvey and John Singleton, would indeed run in The Everest.
James McDonald has been enlisted to ride the promising four-year-old, a sibling to the late stakes winner Libertini, who graced the Everest fields in 2020 and 2021.
Hawaii Five Oh, boasting victories in the Group 3 Hawkesbury Guineas (1400m) and Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) during the autumn, followed by a commendable third-place finish in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) behind Think About It, is gearing up for his third start this season heading into The Everest.
In his first outing, he finished sixth in the Group 2 Shorts (1100m), a race won by Think About It's stablemate Private Eye, who is also bound for the Everest.