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By Ray Hickson

Star mare Bella Nipotina has broken new ground for champion trainer Ciaron Maher as his first runner in the $20 million TAB Everest.

The seven-year-old has been secured by TAB as its horse for the nation’s premier sprint race at Royal Randwick on October 19.

On the back of ending last season with a Group 1 win in the Tattersall’s Tiara in Queensland, Bella Nipotina showed she’d returned as good as ever with a slashing second to stablemate I Am Me in the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) earlier this month.

“My team and I are so excited to have our first runner in The TAB Everest and there is no more deserving mare than Bella Nipotina,” Maher said.

“She has proven time and time again that she is one of the best sprinters in the land and we thank TAB for selecting her.

Bella Nipotina winning the Tattersall's Tiara (Pic: Trackside).

“Bella only had a short break after her dominant Queensland carnival and her first up performance in the Concorde couldn’t have been more impressive.

“We know 1000m is as short as she wants it, and we are excited to get her up over her preferred trip of 1200m next start.

“She just keeps getting better this mare, I wouldn’t trade her for anything else and we’re excited to go on the journey with the TAB team over the next month. “

Bella Nipotina will round out her preparation for the TAB Everest in the Group 2 $1 million Premiere Stakes (1200m) on October 5.

She’s second favourite at $7 behind last year’s runner-up I Wish I Win to become the first mare to win the Everest.

"We're thrilled to have locked in the services of one of Australia's highest-class, in-form sprinters for the world’s richest sprint race," Brett Boyd, Tabcorp's Head of Racing Industry Partnerships, said.

"TAB has been proudly associated with The Everest since its inception, and we believe we've got the right horse to win it this year. We're excited to join the owners on this journey as we count down to the big race at Randwick on October 19."

In the seven editions of the TAB everest to date, TAB's best result as a slot holder has been a second with Santa Ana Lane in 2019. Craig Williams will ride the mare.

It’s staggering to think that while Bella Nipotina has three Group 1 wins to get name she’s already topped the $11 million in prizemoney and managing owner Michael Christian hoping she can add the TAB Everest to her CV.

“We are absolutely thrilled to partner with TAB and have Bella run in the 2024 TAB Everest,” Christian said.

“We are so blessed to be involved with such an incredible horse and to be able to run in TAB's slot in the TAB Everest is a dream come true. We look forward to an exciting few weeks ahead."

The mare is the third horse secured for a start in the TAB Everest with I Wish I Win running in the Trackside Media slot and Bustling selected by Max Whitby & Neil Werrett's group.

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