Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Australian mare Tempted has upset Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising to win the $20 million The Everest (1200m), the world’s richest race on turf.
Prepared by mega-trainer Ciaron Maher for the Godolphin empire of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed, the four-year-old travelled third on the fence from barrier one and speared to the lead early in the straight, taking a formidable break on the rest of the 12-horse field.
Ka Ying Rising – the long odds-on favourite rated the No.1 horse in the world – travelled in midfield, settling further back than most judges expected after jumping from a wide barrier.
But while he built a stern challenge late on, the flying Tempted was able to hold on, scoring by a head and paying $7 on the TAB.
The Chris Waller-trained made Joliestar ran third, with Matt Smith’s Headwall fourth.
Trained by Hong Kong-based Australian David Hayes, Ka Ying Rising was seeking his 23rd win from 25 career starts, alongside two narrow seconds among his first three outings.
Hayes’s only concern amid rain earlier in the week surrounded the fact Ka Ying Rising was untested on heavy going. But subsequent sunny skies meant Saturday’s race was held on a surface merely rated a soft 5, one level off “good”.
Tempted’s victory turned the tables after her second placing to Ka Ying Rising in last year’s Everest, the slot race that has quickly captured the racing public’s imagination in its 10-year history.
Various racing and breeding entities purchase the 12 slots to have a runner in the race for $700,000 each, then select a horse to fill it after negotiating a prizemoney split with its owners.
