Tempted holds off a desperate Ka Ying Rising in the 2026 G1 The Everest (1200m).
Leo Schlink
David Hayes has lamented a poor barrier draw after Ka Ying Rising’s 21-race winning streak came to a dramatic end in the AU$20 million (approx. HK$108.9 million) G1 The Everest (1200m) at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia on Saturday (17 October).
Ka Ying Rising (129lb) was trapped wide under Zac Purton after jumping from barrier 11 and settling sixth, and momentarily appeared to be struggling in the straight before he launched a desperate bid for a second victory in the world’s richest turf race, failing by only half a neck to overhaul Tempted (125lb).
Ciaron Maher-trained Tempted, who had a trouble-free run from barrier one under former Hong Kong-based jockey Chad Schofield, inflicted Ka Ying Rising’s first defeat since January 2024 and reversed the result of last year’s The Everest, when she was second to Ka Ying Rising.
Joliestar (125lb) was third, a neck further back. The overall time was 1m 08.21s.
Hayes said: “We didn’t expect him to be there (midfield), but it was the barrier. Sometimes (barrier) 11 can be a bonus, but he got caught wide. He settled a bit further back than we thought he would, and if we have to take a positive out of it, he was in front one stride after the post.
“So (he was) very brave. The first and third horse cut the corner and really had dream runs, and we had a horror (run) being six-wide, no cover. But he was brave, and I love the way he finished, but I hate the result.
“The ground (Soft 5) was absolutely perfect. It was the barrier, and we actually thought the barrier would be a bonus, but it went the wrong way for us.
“I’ve had a chat with Zac and he just thinks the barrier, getting caught so wide, and the winner had such a beautiful run. Well done to the winner. She’s had a big spring.”
Hayes immediately looked to the future, declaring: “He (Ka Ying Rising) will be there on LONGINES Day (LONGINES Hong Kong International Races) and then (FWD) Champions Day, and this season is only just starting, so hopefully we might come back next year to The Everest.”
Purton, who has partnered Ka Ying Rising in 20 of the gelding’s 22 wins from 25 starts, was circumspect post-race.
“I thought it was a very good run, he just got a little bit lost coming into the straight and it felt like he was really struggling but when the horse on the outside (Headwall, 129lb) came to him, that’s when he clicked into gear and started to give me something,” Purton said. “He was good to the line – very good heart.
“He prefers it dry, but he got through it (the track) okay. Every horse that went forward, finished out the back so it didn’t work out for them, either.”
Schofield, who rode 208 winners in Hong Kong before relocating to Sydney in 2021, was elated after employing a radical change of plans by pushing forward on Tempted – who usually races back in the field.
“First time I’ve really ridden her and asked her from the start. I normally just ride her to relax and trust her to be far too good late,” Schofield said.
“But it was a different race today. We had the world’s best sprinter, the world’s best horse. I had eyes for him, and I knew he wasn’t up there and I held my spot and kept him deep and I’m pretty sure that made Zac have to come back.
“From there, I had the perfect trip. I came off from behind the two leaders, and I hit the front very early, a long way out. But she’s such a good horse, she’s so brave and so game.”
With the runner’s up cheque of AU$2.9 million (approx. HK$15.8 million), Ka Ying Rising’s career earnings swelled to HK$176.7 million, overtaking Golden Sixty’s HK$167.17 million to be in second place among Hong Kong’s highest-earning horses behind Romantic Warrior, who retired with world record prizemoney of HK$288,745,697.
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