Australian punting has always loved an underdog with a good story, and this winter it found a perfect one: a mare bought for $8,000 — the price of a used ute — who ran down a $3 million Stradbroke Handicap field at Eagle Farm in June.
Spicy Martini's win was a first Group 1 for young jockey Taylor Marshall, a career highlight for Gold Coast trainer Toby Edmonds, and the kind of result that makes every battler who's ever bought a cheap yearling believe again. Her earnings now top $2.7 million — more than three hundred times what she cost.
The dream with a mountain in it
What makes the story bigger than one race is where it's pointed: The Everest at Randwick on 17 October, $20 million over 1200 metres — and the domain of Ka Ying Rising, Hong Kong's champion, who won it in 2025 and is being readied to come back for it.
“Hopefully this mare might attract an Everest slot, we'll see what happens,” Edmonds said after the Stradbroke — the sound of a man trying not to dream too loudly. She still doesn't have one. Twelve slots, twelve owners, and a mare who has to go and take one off somebody. Her spring reportedly starts in The Shorts.
