Ka Ying Rising impressed trainer David Hayes when he breezed through his final piece of fast work ahead of The Everest at Randwick on Saturday.
Partnered by regular track rider Roy Ip, he cruised over 1000m at Canterbury Racecourse and of his bid to become the first horse since Redzel (2017 and 2018) to win the race in consecutive years.
“He had a nice, long, steady canter to warm up and then he quickened from the 600m and was rolling down the straight,” Hayes said. “I’m not sure if the times are right, but we got him at 36.5s (for the last 600m). The riding boy was very happy, and what I was particularly happy with was the recovery.
“He had an easier gallop going into the trial, but what the trial has done has got him back into game day mode and that was his strongest piece.”
Zac Purton will again ride Ka Ying Rising this weekend when the gelding attempts to extend his winning streak to 22 races, a record for a Hong Kong-trained horse, and secure a 10th Group 1 triumph.
Hayes said while the nine-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey Purton harbours doubts about Ka Ying Rising’s ability to cope with soft conditions, Hayes is confident the New Zealand-bred sprinter can handle rain-affected ground.
“The Hong Kong wet track is a bit different to the Australian wet track. The grass is a bit tighter and he has a daisy cutting action,” Hayes said.
“Zac has a query on an Aussie wet, I don’t. I’m not worried. I think the other day Zac thought he laboured a little bit in the trial; I think that was fitness and having a good look around, and it was his first hit-out in five weeks.
“Zac has given himself a bit of wiggle room, but when I bought him, I saw him win a trial on heavy ground. It was only a trial but he looked pretty good, so I bought him.”
Last year Ka Ying Rising became the first overseas-trained galloper to win The Everest – the world’s richest turf race – and this season he will face 11 crack Australian rivals, including 2025 runner-up Tempted, Joliestar, Jimmysstar and 2022 The Everest victor Giga Kick.
Fresh off a Sha Tin 1200m course record of 1m 06.11s, Ka Ying Rising does not need to prove anything – regardless of Saturday’s result – according to Hayes.
“We probably need to have a bad day, and they (Saturday’s opposition) have a very good day to beat him,” Hayes said.
“(Ka Ying Rising) is a freak of nature. He’s a generational horse. Five times he’s broken the (Sha Tin 1200m) track record; I’ve never seen that before. Especially eased down. I never thought I would see a sprinter as good as Black Caviar until this horse came along.
“So, he’s in rare air at the moment. You can have your opinion who’s better, that’s not the point, but he’s as good as her (Black Caviar) anyway I think.”
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