All eyes will be on Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign in Friday night's Group I Moir Stakes and her trainer Gary Portelli is "as intrigued" as anyone to find out if the filly will take the next step.
She Will Reign is a confirmed starter for the $10 million The Everest but Portelli is under no illusions that his star galloper still has plenty to prove, starting at Moonee Valley on Friday night in the 1000m weight-for-age sprint.
"Like everyone else, I don't know where we sit at the moment," Portelli said. "I'm as intrigued as everyone.
"I've no doubt that she's the best horse I've ever trained and my gut is saying she won't let us down, not that she ever could after what she achieved as a two-year-old.
"Is her ringcraft, her racecraft there to take on the top older horses? Will she be able to cope under the lights, first time the Melbourne way in a high pressure 1000m race?
"I won't know until Friday night but I get the feeling she's up to it."
Portelli started planning She Will Reign's spring three-year-old campaign during the winter and says "if you had have told me three months ago there was going to be 17 runners in the Moir I would have stayed in Sydney" but the program was set and the work carried out ahead of her first-up task.
"Leading up to the Golden Slipper my worry was 'is she a bit of a speedy squib' and I'm still getting my head around the fact that she showed she's capable of running a strong 1200m, because she's so fast," he said.
"I thought if I put her in a 1200m weight-for-age race or even 1100m first-up, I was worried it might have been a bit tougher.
"I can't believe the size of the field on Friday night. Four out of the last five Moir Stakes fields have had 10 runners or less.
"I made a decision a few months ago and I've stuck to it. I don't like changing plans with horses when you map out a program and it's simple as that."
Two solid trial performances have prepared the 'new look' She Will Reign ahead of the first-up mission where Kerrin McEvoy is the man that was 'in the right spot at the right time" after regular rider Ben Melham revealed to Portelli and connections he wouldn't be able to make the weight.
"She's about 40 kilos heavier than what she was when she won the Slipper," Portelli said.
"I think the biggest change in her demeanour is she's a much more relaxed horse.
"She's more mature mentally compared with the two-year-old when she was doing it all on fear.
"She's still got the speed, she's shown me that's still there at trackwork and I'm very happy with how the campaign has gone."
After Friday night Portelli has another challenge – who will ride the filly in The Everest. McEvoy is already booked to partner the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Redzel in the race leaving the prized mount aboard She Will Reign up for grabs.
Portelli wouldn't name the candidates to ride his filly but said, "I'm just going to play the game for as long as I can".
"I've got a few proven lightweight Group I-winning riders that are in the wings but we'll get through Friday night first before we make any decisions," he said.
"I'm sure we won't have any problems getting someone to commit to her for a $10 million race after her run on Friday night."
She Will Reign is the $4.20 second favourite for the Moir Stakes behind Russian Revolution and the daughter of Manhattan Rain is a $10 chance for The Everest.
