David Hayes has called on the Hong Kong Jockey Club to reconsider its early season programming with The Everest in mind after his sprinting superstar Ka Ying Rising made it 10 wins and three Group 1 victories in a row in Sunday’s G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m).
Ka Ying Rising gave his supporters a couple of nervous moments mid-stretch before he asserted his authority late to win at his first attempt beyond 1200m. The four-year-old was a length and a half clear of Helios Express with Howdeepisyourlove third in a repeat of the trifecta from the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) last month.
Hayes’ thoughts quickly turned to the future, though, with all paths leading to the AUD$20 million (HKD$98.7 million) G1 The Everest at Randwick in October.
While the remainder of Ka Ying Rising’s season is all but set in stone – a start in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) on April 26 with a potential outing a month before in the G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) on March 30 – it is next season’s programme which was at the front of Hayes’ mind immediately after his Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup success.
Hayes would prefer to have an option to run Ka Ying Rising in a “Terms race” at set weights – or set weights and penalties, rather than a handicap in which his horse would carry a big weight – and argues that such a race would provide Hong Kong horses with the ideal platform towards The Everest in the years ahead.
“I’d love the Club to consider it at least,” Hayes told Idol Horse. “It would be great for Ka Ying (Rising), of course, but going forward it would be good too as more Hong Kong horses target The Everest. It is a logical race for Hong Kong’s best sprinters and a Terms race would give them the best chance to win it.
“The Everest is here to stay, it’s a World Pool race and Hong Kong horses are going to be in it for years to come. It would be a bit ground-breaking, but things change, don’t they? I just think you need somewhere in September to run a good horse that isn’t a gut buster.”
The only race in September in which Ka Ying Rising could currently run is the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1200m), a Class 1 handicap. Under the conditions, Ka Ying Rising would carry topweight of 135 pounds with most of his rivals on or near the minimum of 115 pounds.
Ka Ying Rising won the race in 2024 with 135 pounds, but his rating was only 111 at the time. With a rating in the 130s, he would be guaranteed that impost again but would meet his rivals far worse off at the weights – meaning it would potentially require a far more taxing effort this time around.
“Going forward, they might want to make the Chief Executive’s Cup a Class 2 and have a separate Terms race for the top-class horses,” he said. “If they didn’t put a Terms race on, I’d give him an exhibition gallop at one of the early meetings. I won’t give him a run in Australia before The Everest, he’ll go in fresh there.”
It is not without precedent for the Jockey Club to stage races early in the season to assist with potential overseas campaigns.
In 1994, a Class 1 over 2300m was staged in mid-September to give River Verdon a springboard into the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in Australia. It has also been touted at other times, although it has never come to fruition ∎
