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By Ray Hickson
At Newcastle

It was arrogant. It was classy. It was Everest form.

Lost And Running confirmed his standing as one of the most exciting sprinters in the land defying top weight and a wide run to put away a quality field in the $1 million The Hunter (1300m) at Newcastle.

Hugh Bowman returns on Lost And Running after winning The Hunter. (Pic: Steve Hart)

Trainer John O’Shea can’t wait to have another crack at the $15m TAB Everest with the gelding, who ran fourth in this year’s edition, but he will chase a few autumn Group 1s first.

O’Shea was never concerned about the outside alley with Lost And Running and jockey Hugh Bowman rode the gelding like the best horse in the race.

“Hugh has got so much confidence in the horse and that’s how he rode him,’’ O’Shea said.

“I’m really looking forward to the next 12 months with him, hopefully we can continue to keep him sound.

“He’ll have relatively light autumn. He’ll probably run in the Canterbury Stakes and the All Aged Stakes, keep him at home at Randwick, and then we’ll get ready for The Everest again.”

Lost And Running ($2.50) held a 1-1/4 length margin on the line over the fast-finishing Wandabaa ($41) with UK import Top Ranked ($4.20) making a promising local debut in third.

O’Shea had learned a lot about Lost And Running this spring, not only that he can now be considered a genuine topline sprinter but how to prepare him in the new year.

The Everest campaign started poorly and perhaps the horse did too well in the paddock as it took him until the sprint classic to find his best form. He put on 5kg after his second placing in the Classique Legend Stakes and O’Shea said he won’t have a long break this time around.

“We thought we’d better give him another run to make sure he isn’t too big going to the paddock,'' he said.

“You could see today he made improvement from the Classique Legend and he raced accordingly.

“That’s the key to the horse, we knew he would improve throughout his preparation and today was the pinnacle performance.

“He did a good job today and gets a well-earned break now. He’ll come back in the autumn and we’ll see if we can win a couple more.”

Bowman said he didn’t give sitting wide a second thought on Lost And Running and suspects in time he might even excel over more than just a sprint trip.

But the 2022 Everest will be his aim. The champion jockey said The Hunter will be a breeding ground for future stars and the win of Lost And Running will ensure future editions only get stronger.

“He was the only horse out of The Everest and that form has stood up in Melbourne and Sydney since that race so it is the benchmark,’’ he said.

“We obviously had a healthy respect for the English horse (Top Ranked) but to come over here and take on a seasoned campaigner like Lost And Running was a big ask but he has obviously run well too.

“The Hunter has certainly stamped itself as a race for future stars.”

It’s now three editions of The Hunter for three second placings for Kris Lees but he couldn’t have been happier with Wandabaa’s effort to finish as close as she did.

Lees had four runners in the race, his other trio finished seventh, eighth and ninth, but it was the mare on the back-up who put in arguably her career best performance.

Lost And Running wins The Hunter at Newcastle

“I don’t think too many horses have come out of the pack like she did so it was a pretty brave effort,’’ he said.

Annabel Neasham, who turned 31 on Saturday, can’t wait for 2022 with the import Top Ranked after he took the minor money at his Australian debut.

The grey had never started below a mile in his 12 starts, and that was evident as he was outsprinted by the runner-up early in the straight before rallying, and is expected to be aimed at the $3m Doncaster Mile (1600m) during The Star Championships.

“He just found it a bit short on a good track,’’ she said.

“He’s never run 1300m, it was a super run and we’ll put him away now and he’ll have a good autumn.”

Check out the replays and results from The Hunter day at Newcastle