Craig Kerry
Chad Schofield knew he needed to be bold, in his first Everest ride, to beat the world’s best.
And in the end, he needed Tempted to be brave.
Defying a drift in betting to $6.50 as the Randwick track dried out to a soft 5, having started the day as a 7, Tempted and Schofield were courage personified as the four-year-old mare toppled defending champion Ka Ying Rising in the $20 million showpiece.
The Ciaron Maher-trained, Godolphin-owned mare, second to Ka Ying Rising last year, had gate one again – but this year carried 5.5kilograms more against the world’s highest-rated horse.
Schofield has ridden Tempted ever since that loss and the combination has remained unbeaten with finishing bursts from back in the field.
On Saturday, with Ka Ying Rising caught three wide midfield from gate 11 after taking a sit, Tempted pushed forward to settle behind leader Savvy Hallie.
Schofield went early, hitting the lead 300m out as Ka Ying Rising, a $1.35 favourite, came wide and stormed home to finish a half-neck away. Joliestar was third. It ended the Hong Kong superstar’s winning streak at 21 and provided a career highlight for Schofield.
“I normally just ride her quietly because I know she’s going to peel out at the top of the straight and run straight past them,” Schofield said.
“Today, with Ka Ying Rising in the race, we needed to be bold, and we were. It’s the first time she’s jumped and I’ve given her a squeeze, and like always she was just there for me.
“I needed her to show gate speed, she did, she relaxed then she grabbed the bit around the turn and quickened past two tiring roughies. In her races in the past, she always hits the front and clocks off, so when I hit the front so early, such a long way out, it was very foreign to her. I needed her to be brave and she was. This is top of the list.”
Godolphin Australia managing director Andy Makiv praised the ride and said the win was “exhilarating”.
“She got a great ride,” Makiv said. “She hit the front a long way from home and she’s used to hunting something down. She got left there a long way, so brave, exhilarating. It’s a long straight. People around me were saying, she’s home, she’s home, and I was saying, hold, hold. Anyway, fantastic.
“Chad and her get along so well and he’s been saying that she’s jumping well and she’d be closer today, so delighted for him. They’ve got a good little partnership going. It’s a great day for Godolphin and our shuttle stallion business.”
It was a second Everest win for Maher, who claimed the race with Bella Nipotina in 2024.
“I always had an air of confidence she would run her best race today,” Maher said. “You could see the way she was building through it. Chad knew what he had under him and I felt barrier one was ideal. She had to be at her absolute best and she was.”
Ka Ying Rising’s trainer, David Hayes, said the gates made the difference.
“We didn’t expect him to be there, but it was the barrier,” Hayes said. “Sometimes 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.
“The first and third horse cut the corner and really had dream runs, and we had a horror, being six-wide, no cover. But he was brave, and I love the way he finished, but I hate the result.”
Queensland trainer Kelly Schweida was open to stepping Grafterburners up to the Everest next year after the decision to dodge the race on Saturday paid off with a stylish win in the $2 million consolation, the Sydney Stakes (1200m).
Nash Rawiller took the four-year-old Graff entire came up the inside of leader Overpass late en route to a length and a half victory over favourite Marhoona.
“We paid $70,000 for him at Inglis, so it keeps the dream alive,” Schweida said. “He just showed today what he’s capable of doing. There were some pretty good horses there today.”
He left the door ajar to the Everest next year with Grafterburners, but he was pleased with how the plan played out this year.
“We got offered a slot, to be honest,” he revealed. “But we thought to run third or fourth ... the good horse [Ka Ying Rising] is there, Tempted has beaten us fair and square a couple of times, so we elected to go this way because of the prizemoney, and we didn’t have to share it with anyone.”