Craig Kerry
Steady rain wreaked havoc with the Everest barrier draw broadcast at Sydney’s Luna Park on Tuesday night, but trainer David Hayes believes the wet weather was no worry for Ka Ying Rising, for now, and that a wide gate was no problem.
All eyes were on the draw for the defending champion and solid $1.40 favourite, who gained gate 11 of 12 for the $20 million Everest (1200m) on Saturday at Randwick.
Hayes said he wasn’t worried about the wide alley for the on-pace Hong Kong superstar, who will shoot for a 22nd consecutive win on Saturday.
“He’ll come across and if the tempo is too fast for him, he’ll sit second or third. If it’s not fast enough, he’ll lead,” Hayes said of the world’s highest-rated horse.
“I’d be more worried about being boxed in in one, two or three and he had a slow jump. I think he will be out of trouble and the Randwick 1200, it’s wonderful. You’ve got a nice, long run to get across. It’s not chaotic like Sha Tin. At Sha Tin, you’ve only got 200 metres, and he still makes it easy to get across.
“I’d be more worried about a heavy 10 than barrier 11.”
How Ka Ying Rising handles a potentially heavy track is the only question mark for the six-year-old, who has broken the Sha Tin track record four times since winning his first overseas assignment last year in the Everest.
“Luckily it’s Tuesday. If it was Friday, I’d be a bit worried,” he said of the rain, which forced interviews inside after the draw was projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“But the forecast says it won’t be.”
Still, Hayes was confident Ka Ying Rising would handle a slow track, despite racing and winning on it just once in Hong Kong.
“I’ve seen him on wet ground. One day he won on a genuine yielding track, but his time was of a fast track. And the other races were yielding to slow [times],” he said.
“Then when I bought him, he was on a slow to heavy track. I was a bit worried I was buying a wet tracker. And I’ve seen him trial many times in the slush, on the dirt track, and he’s been very good.”
As for Everest runner Ninja, who won a trial on a soft 7 at Randwick on October 6, he said: “I think the other day, the combination of long grass and being out in the middle of the track, looking around, and probably, stewards’ room, not really trying that hard.
“The heavy would worry me, though. I’d be really worried going for a race if it was heavy. If it’s dead, I’m sure he’ll handle dead. And I’m pretty comfortable on slow, and I really don’t know on heavy. Aussie heavy is different to Hong Kong heavy.”
Main rival Tempted, runner-up last year, drew gate one and was into $4.50.
Draw: 1. Ka Ying Rising 11, 2. Jimmysstar 8, 3. Giga Kick 12, 4. Angel Capital 2, 5. Caballus 10, 6. Headwall 6, 7. Ninja 3, 8. Joliestar 5, 9. Tempted 1, 10. Spicy Martini 4, 11. Savvy Hallie 7, 12. Blue Door 9.
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