Spicy Martini will carry the Inglis slot in the $20 million G1 The Everest at Randwick on October 17, with the lightly raced five-year-old set to take her place in one of Australian racing’s most prestigious sprint contests. The Coolmore-bred mare will enter the feature after an outstanding 2026 campaign that will have included a Group 1 triumph and a series of high-class performances.
Spicy Martini will bring six victories from only 13 career starts and more than $2.7 million in prizemoney into The Everest. Her season will have included a G1 success in the Stradbroke Handicap, a second-place finish in the G1 Doomben 10,000 and a strong first-up effort in the G2 The Shorts at Randwick.
The mare will be trained by Toby Edmonds and ridden by Taylor Marshall, who will renew his association with Spicy Martini after partnering her five times previously for three victories, including her Stradbroke Handicap success.
Spicy Martini The Everest 2026 Challenge Gains Momentum at Randwick
Spicy Martini will head towards The Everest in career-best form, with her 2026 campaign having established a compelling sequence of performances. She will have produced a new peak figure at each start during the year, according to Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch, with her Stradbroke Handicap victory standing as the defining achievement of her campaign.
Her consistency will be complemented by considerable versatility. Spicy Martini will have won on conditions ranging from Good 4 to Heavy 10 and will have demonstrated an ability to settle close to the pace or race from a position further back in the field. She will also have victories at 1200m and a Group 1 success at 1400m, giving her a broad racing profile heading into the Randwick feature.
Her latest appearance in The Shorts will provide further encouragement. Spicy Martini will have finished just 0.7 lengths from victory in the Group 2 contest, crossing the line alongside established sprinters Mazu, Joliestar and Kings Secret. Her effort will have been particularly meritorious after she raced with one shoe ripped off and two others shifting during the contest.
The performance will have demonstrated that the mare had returned in excellent order, strengthening the case for her inclusion in the Inglis slot for The Everest.
Hutch will regard Spicy Martini’s progression throughout 2026 as a significant factor behind Inglis securing her for the Randwick feature. Her ability to handle varying conditions, distances and racing positions will give Edmonds several tactical options when preparing her for the $20 million contest.
$8,000 Purchase Adds Remarkable Chapter to Spicy Martini The Everest 2026 Story
Spicy Martini’s journey towards the $20 million stage will have begun with a modest $8,000 purchase through the 2023 March Early Online Sale on Inglis Digital. Edmonds and his partner Holly Penfold, who will manage the mare’s ownership, will have purchased the daughter of Justify as a yearling.
That initial investment will have developed into an extraordinary racing return. Spicy Martini will already have earned more than $2.7 million from only 13 starts, while her G1 Stradbroke Handicap success will have placed her among the leading sprinting mares of the season.
Penfold will have decided after the Stradbroke Handicap in June that Spicy Martini would return to Randwick on October 17. The mare will initially have been considered for either the Sydney Stakes or The Everest, with the opportunity to represent Inglis ultimately securing her place in the $20 million feature.
The mare’s first-up run in The Shorts will have further strengthened the confidence surrounding her preparation. Her narrow defeat against a strong field will have demonstrated that she was capable of competing at the highest level after a spell.
Spicy Martini will remain at Edmonds’ Gold Coast stable until Everest week. Edmonds will then drive the mare to Sydney himself, with the five-year-old scheduled to be stabled at Peter Snowden’s Randwick base before The Everest.
Marshall will take the ride when Spicy Martini lines up at Randwick. His previous association with the mare will include five rides and three victories, giving the jockey an established understanding of her racing characteristics.
The partnership will have already produced one of the most important victories of Spicy Martini’s career in the Stradbroke Handicap, and it will now be reunited for an even greater assignment at Randwick.
Spicy Martini will represent the Inglis slot in The Everest at Randwick after a standout 2026 campaign featuring G1 Stradbroke Handicap success, a strong Doomben 10,000 performance and an impressive return in The Shorts.
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