Hong Kong’s mega hero Ka Ying Rising primed to peak for the Everest challenge
It has dawned on Australia’s sporting circle this week that Hong Kong’s very own megastar Ka Ying Rising is unequivocally the best drawcard Sydney’s flagship race, The Everest, has ever had and that racing is all the better for his presence.
The humbly bred New Zealander, who first appeared on the radar in trials in Australia two years ago, found himself in Hong Kong as a replacement for a previous purchase who failed to measure up for one of trainer David Hayes’s owners.
Unraced on arrival, Ka Ying Rising is now 14 from 16, having chalked up 13 successive victories.
The five-year-old has taken on allcomers on home soil in Hong Kong and is now the world’s highest-rated sprinter. But is he actually the best?
That’s the question and the test he faces on Saturday when he strides out under his regular partner, Aussie Zac Purton, in the Group 1 6f Everest, the world’s richest race on turf, with total prize-money of A$20 million (£9.67m/€11.15m).
As with any major sporting star, Ka Ying Rising has not been out of the news since his arrival in Australia. First there was the barrier trial early last week in which he became acquainted with Randwick racecourse. He finished a respectable third but the critics were waiting . . . and they pounced.
“He won’t win an Everest on that trial,” they sneered. The 5f trial was on turf and also featured big names such as Mr Brightside (fourth), Joliestar (fifth) and Fangirl (sixth). Hayes looked a little concerned at the time, but not panicky, and yesterday he appeared much happier.
“I think the trial brought him on a lot,” he says. “He’s really settled in now; his food intake has improved again and he’s lovely and bright in the stable, active and really relaxed. He’s been kept to his daily routine at Canterbury and there was no need for another look at the mounting yard [paddock] at Randwick. He’ll be more relaxed on raceday because we’ll have him in a different area.”
The mighty Ka Ying Rising is accustomed to soaking up fan adulation in Hong KongCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
The lengthy analysis of the trial by a multitude of media pundits ensured The Everest maintained its high place on the news agenda of all broadcast outlets; coverage has been unrelenting.
There has been a suggestion that Ka Ying Rising could occupy the semi-private tie-up stall on the big day once used by Winx when she was at her peak. Crowd control is necessary as fans clamour to take selfies with the horse in the background, sometimes as close as ten feet away.
Mention of Winx prompts the question to her jockey, Hugh Bowman, about the great mare’s regular lacklustre efforts in barrier trials during her career, specifically in the context of the scrutiny Ka Ying Rising has been enduring.
“From memory, Winx won only two trials ever, one of which was held on a raceday when I was under suspension and Chris Waller didn’t want to run her without me riding her,” Bowman says. “She simply didn’t put the same energy into trials as she did at the races.”
The other headlines this week came when the X account of local broadcaster Gareth Hall was hacked, sending out a false report that Ka Ying Rising had gone wrong and would be scratched. Hayes was angry: “It was far from the truth. I was very happy with the horse. Someone had put out this bull**** story and then it just exploded. The phones were in meltdown. It was ‘fake news,’ as Trump would say.”
David Hayes at Sha Tin racecourse , where Ka Ying Rising has scored all 14 of his victoriesCredit: HKJC
Hayes knows all about big international challenges. Thirty-five years ago, when he was training in Melbourne, he took his champion Better Loosen Up to Tokyo for the 1990 Japan Cup and came back triumphant. However, the trainer says that was very different to this Ka Ying Rising adventure.
“In Japan, we were foreigners in a foreign country. It was the richest race in the world at the time and the Japan Cup was going through a golden era; it was exciting. That was a long time ago and I think that with social media and general media scrutiny today, the coverage of The Everest is much bigger and the exposure is much greater.
“The other difference is that Better Loosen Up was a 5-1 shot. We were very hopeful but the market tells you everything. Ka Ying Rising is $1.50 [odds of 1-2].
“What I keep coming back to is this: if The Everest were a handicap, off his current rating, Ka Ying Rising would be giving them 12 kilos [26lb]. But it’s not a handicap, it’s set weights, and that’s why he is so short in the betting. On straight ratings he’s a long way ahead of the field and in all the races he’s been in recently that’s been the case.”
Hayes says the most stressful period for him will be the two hours before the race. “If he’s as he was on Thursday morning I’ll be quite relaxed. In the trial at Randwick last week he was looking around. He didn’t know where he was; he was lost, stargazing. But in the race this time, instead of Zac switching him off when he straightens up he’ll switch him on. It will be a big difference.”
This is the ninth running of The Everest, the flagship race that has been vigorously promoted by Sydneysiders and a race they desperately want to rival the Melbourne Cup. That will never be, of course, but we have seen this week that when an international star in the shape of Ka Ying Rising turns up, the profile of the race is raised high on racing’s world stage.
The mighty Hong Kong star sprinter’s clash with Joliestar, Briasa, War Machine and Lady Shenandoah and the other worthy rivals should make for a fantastic race. It could be one for the ages.
World Pool: The Everest and Ascot on the same bill
The Everest card at Randwick is one of three meetings on Saturday featuring on a busy day for the World Pool.
Races six to ten on the Randwick card will be included in the World Pool, along with race nine, the Caulfield Cup, at the Australian track of the same name.
In Britain, races two to seven of Qipco British Champions Day will also be part of the World Pool before the series heads to Gavea, in Brazil, for Gran Premio Latinoamericano day on Sunday.
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