Bivouac has long been the front runner for Godolphin's Everest slot having established himself not only as an elite 3-year-old colt but having proven himself against the older horses with an emphatic win in the Newmarket at Flemington in March.
Godolphin Australia's Managing Director Vin Cox told TDN AusNZ that the decision was a relatively straightforward one when he sat down with trainer James Cummings and the other members of Godolphin's Everest selection committee on Monday.
"He's always been our best horse and he's a dynamic horse on his day and was certainly brilliant in winning the Newmarket earlier this year and the Golden Rose last year," Cox said.
"He was always the one we wanted to go forward with and given we have got our own slot and our own horses, you don’t want to commit too early. We wanted to make sure that the horse is fit and able to go forward and to make sure he was our best prospect."
"He was always the one we wanted to go forward with and given we have got our own slot and our own horses, you don’t want to commit too early." - Vin Cox
Bivouac was last seen when third in the G2 The Shorts on September 19, his first-up run of the spring and Cox said that effort, beaten only 1.2l by fellow Everest competitor Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt), has brought him on perfectly.
"I was looking at him at Osborne Park on Saturday and the horse looked fantastic. It wasn't a big piece of work but he worked brilliantly on Saturday and we couldn't be happier with him. James and the team are very happy with the horse and we have put Glen Boss on to ride him, bringing the partnership together from the Newmarket," he said.
Boss rode Yes Yes Yes to win The Everest last year and while he has had just eight rides for Cummings in the past 12 months, he has a strike rate of 25 per cent.
"As Glen reminded me, he has a very good Group 1 record. He's a big race rider and he has certainly got the best out of Bivouac when he rode him in the Newmarket," Cox said.
Glen Boss and Yes Yes Yes partnered to win last year's Everest
Cox confirmed that Bivouac will trial again before The Everest.
"James is very meticulous with his preparation and the plan is he will trial in the interim and should go into The Everest as good as he can be," he said.
Godolphin became a slotholder ahead of last year's race, selecting Alizee (Sepoy), who would ran seventh, to run for it, while another of its top sprinters, Trekking (Street Cry {Ire}), ran third under the slot of the Melbourne Racing Club. The Cummings-trained Osborne Bulls (Street Cry {Ire}) also ran third in the 2018 edition when selected to run by the Australian Turf Club.
Godolphin also secured a slot for this year's race, and Cox said to win The Everest, with a stallion prospect of the order of Bivouac, in their own slot, would be a significant achievement for the global powerhouse.
"It's a race that has created huge interest and cut-through in Sydney, across Australia, and all over the globe. It gives a colt prospect huge credibility and to win it with our own slot would be even better. It's a big investment and if it would come off, it would be great for everyone involved," he said.
"It gives a colt prospect huge credibility and to win it with our own slot would be even better. It's a big investment and if it would come off, it would be great for everyone involved." - Vin Cox
Cox said Godolphin was still fielding interest from remaining slotholders for Trekking, who was runner-up in Saturday's G1 Moir S. at Moonee Valley.
"They are knocking on the door. Whether we go forward with Trekking at this stage we haven't decided. There is certainly some interesting proposals with him, no doubt," he said.
