Agera’s coming-of-age campaign has carried him all the way up to black-type level, flying home to score a last-gasp victory in Friday’s Listed Team Wealleans Matamata Cup (1600m).
Having ridden in six previous editions of The Everest (1200m) as well as multiple clashes with Ka Ying Rising in Hong Kong, jockey James McDonald has a good idea of what to expect when the world’s highest-rated sprinter makes his Australian debut in the A$20 million feature at Randwick on Saturday.