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By Ray Hickson

A month out from his biggest moment in racing, trainer Nathan Doyle is comfortable with how his star sprinter Private Harry has arrived at the base of the mountain.

Trainer Nathan Doyle (Pic: Trackside).

That’s why the 37-year-old Newcastle trainer says he can enjoy what lies ahead, that includes the ups and downs racing can bring, as his bid for the $20 million TAB Everest begins.

Almost since the day Private Harry was purchased by Yulong and given their slot in the TAB Everest, Doyle has had the Group 2 $1m Yarraman Park Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on Saturday as the kick off point and that’s a good deal of the reason why he’s so content.

“I think you’ve got to enjoy it, that’s what you’re in the game for,’’ he said.

“To have these horses and these moments, you’ve got to enjoy them.

“You can’t beat yourself up and stress too much about it, we know the horse is in good order and it takes the stress out of it when you know he’s spot on.

“You don’t take it for granted, that’s for sure. It’s been a lot of hard work to get to the stage we’re at and to have a horse like him we definitely appreciate it.

“But we’ve got unfinished business, we’re not conceding the job is done. There’s plenty left to do.”

Private Harry handed Doyle his first Group 1 win back on Golden Slipper Day when he took out the Galaxy to extend his unbeaten run to five.

He resisted the temptation to go again in the TJ Smith Stakes and sent the now four-year-old to the paddock to develop and give him a long run up to his Everest mission.

Chris Waller is famous for leaving a week up his sleeve with his topliners in case something needed to be changed, Doyle says he left four and given the wet winter it worked in his favour.

“We had him in earlier than we needed to and that worked out well with all the washed out trial meetings and things like that we were well ahead of the game,’’ he said.

“We’re happy where he sits going into his first-up run. It’s been a nice, long, slow build up for him and I feel he’s come back a more furnished animal.

“He’s forward without having race day fitness under his belt.”

Doyle sent Private Harry, $2.30 with TAB on Thursday and $6 TAB Everest second favourite, out for two trials and a race day exhibition gallop and says he’s only going to improve on whatever he does first-up.

Like all those Everest bound, he wants to be peaking on October 18 but says he’ll have his chance to consolidate his standing on Saturday before he heads to the Premiere Stakes in two weeks.

“He got better with racing, I thought he looked a bit burly into the Galaxy and a week after he looked better,’’ he said.

“I think his peak performance has still been the Sunlight, that’s when we were able to string a few runs together. Being a colt he’s a good doing horse, he holds nice condition and I think he’ll just get better with racing.

“It didn’t matter what barrier he drew because he possesses so much gate speed, he’s going to put himself in the first four and take bad luck out of the equation.”

Private Harry wins a Rosehill trial on August 28

Nathan Doyle on Midnight Opal (race 3): “He probably prefers the sting out of the track which he mightn’t get but he needs to go around, he’s been treading water for a bit. He needs to take that next step.”

On Silvanito (race 4): “Spacing his runs is probably when he races at his best. I made a mistake last preparation with him, I backed him up quickly and he raced flat so I think it was a forget preparation. We went one trial into his first-up run and I feel he’s taken improvement out of that run.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Randwick meeting