Races

Will Ka Ying Be the King Of The Everest?

Whilst Group One racing continues this weekend in Melbourne with the running of the Caulfield Guineas; it’s the 20 million-dollar Everest in Sydney in just ten days which is capturing the attention of racing media around the world.

Randwick will host the 2025 edition of The Everest on October 18th, and the field is absolutely stacked with proven Group One quality sprinters.

Australia’s home-grown stars in Joliestar, Briasa, Jimmystar and Lady Shenandoah have captured the hearts and minds of Australian punters in recent times. But it’s the addition of the horse rated as the world’s premier sprinter, Ka Ying Rising, that has the international racing community talking.

The David Hayes trained Ka Ying Rising was born in New Zealand, then reared in Australia prior to heading to Hong Kong, where he has conquered all before him. Boasting an amazing twelve straight wins, four Group One triumphs and two course records at Sha Tin over the Everest distance of 1200m, Ka Ying Rising has been described by David Hayes as “the best sprinter I’ve had anything to do with and probably the best horse”.

Ka Ying Rising currently leads TABtouch futures markets in the Everest at $1.50 and on the back of his first trial in Australia yesterday, with the performance in the trial polarising opinions. Ka Ying Rising faced Everest rivals Joliestar, Overpass and Angel Capital as well as proven Group One winners Fangirl and Mr Brightside in the trial. International jockey Zac Purton did not ask the question of Ka Ying Rising who travelled nicely in the run, eventually finishing third behind Overpass and Linebacker who also trialed well.

Many punters are suggesting Ka Ying Rising didn’t move out of first gear, others say that $1.50 might be unders for the champion. Rarely do you see such interest in a trial, with many punters turning up to Randwick yesterday to see the gelding in action. This reflects the star quality and huge following around Ka Ying Rising.

Hayes felt his trial was positive, saying “It was a good, solid trial but he did need it. He blew a few cobwebs out and he’ll really come on a lot from that”.

Being formerly based in Australia as a trainer, David Hayes is confident that Ka Ying Rising has the quality to win, but understands better than most that Australia’s crop of sprinters are not easily conquered. “Obviously it’s going to be a competitive race. The horses in Australia are peaking at the right time, so hopefully he can draw a good gate and get a dry track”.

Hayes has gone as far as saying he feels the main danger is Chris Waller’s three-year-old filly Lady Shenandoah, who is currently a $15 chance with TABtouch in Everest markets.

In just eleven days time we will see Australia’s best sprinters trying to conquer the world’s best sprinter in Ka Ying Rising. It’s shaping up to be a battle for the ages.

Will Australia’s sprinters stack up against Ka Ying Rising? Will a soft track bring Ka Ying Rising back to the field? The excitement is building and with a $10 Million purse for the winner, the 2025 Everest is shaping up to be the best yet!

If there is one certainty, it’s that having the world’s best sprinter on our shores contesting richest race on turf is fantastic for Australian racing!

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Image of Ka Ying Rising courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.