Everest 2025 cheat sheet: Our expert’s verdict on superstar fav as every horse rated for $20m battle

In just eight years, The Everest has gone from not being on the face of the planet at all to being one of the most compelling drawcards in Australian racing — as well as the richest race on turf and the second richest on Earth.

And now as it gears up for its ninth edition this Saturday, there’s an extra special twist.

The $20 million slot race, extravaganza, hype-fest, and very arresting sprint contest has gone international!

Which is to say the best sprinter in the world has flown in from Asia to plunder the prize.

He’s Ka Ying Rising, he’s won 14 of 16 races, and he’s the most exciting thing to come out of Hong Kong since Jackie Chan eating some yum cha.

Watch live coverage of the 2025 Spring Racing Carnival events with Racing.com available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Up until this century, Hong Kong used to be something of a racing backwater, taking in second-hand horses from Australia and pushing them around their two tracks.

But now it’s a racing powerhouse, sourcing some of the best gallopers from anywhere, though still mostly Australia, holding many very lucrative international races, and housing some of the finest jockeys and trainers in the world.

David Hayes, from the middle generation of an esteemed Australian racing family, is now based there, and trains Ka Ying Rising, who’s won most of his races in effortless style.

While European stayers are superior to Australia’s, meaning the Brits, Irish and French are all too happy to come and tackle the Melbourne Cup, it’s a different story with sprinters, since this country breeds the best in the world.

CAULFIELD CUP FORM GUIDE: Every runner rated and why ‘outstanding’ local star can repel raiders

Only two foreigners have had a crack at The Everest, and they finished ninth and 12th (which, since we’re civil hosts, is a nice way of saying “last”).

But this time, it’s different.

Every now and then a horse comes along - just like humans might produce a Usain Bolt or an Ian Thorpe - who’s put together in such a way that they’re just better than anything else around.

Think of the unbeaten sprinter Black Caviar - oh how her owners wish The Everest was around back then! - or of course the mighty 33-wins-in-a-row Winx.

Ka Ying Rising appears to be one of those.

Given he’s the highest-rated sprinter on the globe, he’s at the short, short odds of about $1.70 to win the 12-horse scamper at Sydney’s Randwick racecourse, and some rivals feel they’re competing to become the first of the losers (a less nice way of saying “second”).

Still, one good thing about horse racing is contained in its very title. It’s a horse race, as the old saying goes, and so anything can happen. There’s no such thing as a certainty in racing. And in fact the only certainties, just to put a smile on a hard-bitten punter’s face, are death and taxes.

Ka Ying Rising might win by panels of fencing, and just like in the Black Caviar days, it’ll probably be an awesome sight to behold.

Or something weird might happen.

Let’s take a look.

WHAT IS IT?

The Everest, a 1200-metre sprint for a maximum field of 12 horses, around Randwick.

It’s held under weight-for-age conditions, the acknowledged drawcard for top-class gallopers, in which weights are allocated according to age rather than on form, as in handicaps like the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. Females carry two kilos less than males in the same age bracket.

And so, we have five-year-old gelding Ka Ying Rising, and seven other males aged four or more, with 58.5kg, three mares with 56.5kg, and a three-year-old filly (Tempted) with 51kg.

As of last year, the race also earned the elite Group 1 status its creators craved, under the time-honoured pattern of ranking the world’s best races under four tiers, from Group 1, 2 and 3 and on down to Listed class.

WHAT’S IT WORTH?

As mentioned, $20 million. It’s the world’s richest race on grass (but of course the Saudis have a richer one on dirt, the Saudi Cup, worth around $30m).

The Everest winner earns $7m, second takes $2.9m, and all six horses in the second half of the field take home their slot fee, which is $700,000. That means you could say the race is only worth a measly $15.8m.

In fact, given the 12 slot holders tip in $8.4m, you could also say the prizemoney being offered by the race club is $11.6m. But who’s quibbling?

This money-fest also contributes $100,000 to the Jockey Welfare Fund, and $150,000 to the Equine Welfare Fund, to help look after horses and riders when they’re old or injured.

HOW’S IT WORK?

Copied from the land of all things glitzy and showbiz, the USA, The Everest has an unusual “slot race” entry fee structure.

A person, or entity, can decide to become a slot holder, buying said slot for $700,000, which helps fund the whole thing. So while $700,000 is a lot for running last, it still represents a loss for slot owners, because…

Having bought in, slot holders will then invite a horse for filling their slot, and work out with its owners what sort of deal they’ll make for sharing any spoils, sometimes 50-50, but more usually weighted towards the slot holder, the squillionaires making this possible.

The said slot holders include breeding and racing industry giants such as Godolphin, Coolmore Stud, the TAB, and smaller concerns and individuals such as trainer Chris Waller. This year, the Hong Kong Jockey Club has teamed with the host Australian Turf Club to own the slot containing Ka Ying Rising.

Since The Everest’s 2017 inception, slot races have sprung up all over the place, across the three racing codes and of various descriptions and wacky names that make The Everest sound plain. They include The Quokka, The Sandgroper, The Nullarbor, The Race By Grins and The Go You Good Thing.

No, I made that last one up. Sadly, not the others.

WHEN’S IT ON?

Race 7 of 10 on the Randwick card, on Saturday at 4:15pm AEDT.

WHERE CAN YOU WATCH IT?

At the course of course, in Sydney’s east, or on Channel 7, or Sky Racing. Foxsports.com.au will have and updates, including video soon after the race.

MAIN PLOTLINES

This is a great field of sprinters, and might be hailed as the most open Everest yet, but for the presence of Ka Ying Rising.

But this is not really a case of Johnny Foreigner coming to take our jobs, err, our twenty million dollar races.

He was bred in New Zealand, from pretty humble stock, and after a practice race or two was sold privately to Australia’s esteemed Lindsay Park training stable.

That’s run in Victoria by three brothers in Ben, JD and Will Hayes, grandsons of the great Colin Hayes, who won literally dozens of trainers’ premierships in Melbourne and Adelaide over a few decades starting in the 1950s.

The three brothers gave their new young horse - then known as Mr Express - a couple of practice races in Victoria. They said words to the effect of ‘Gee whiz - this thing goes alright’, and then rang their dad, David, saying he’d be well suited to Hong Kong.

The horse went, got a name change to Ka Ying Rising, won his first race, ran second in his next two by the barest of margins, and has won all 13 since.

People will flock to Randwick to see this very special horse gallop. And some rivals will be thrilled if they can run second to him. But it is in the corridor of glorious uncertainty that racing does some of its best work.

Of KYR’s 11 rivals, eight have won Group 1s, and they’re headed by $7 chance Joliestar, an outstanding five-year-old mare who’s won thrice at the top level.

She’s trained by the mighty Waller, and races in the slot he owns, while Waller also trains two other gun chances in the race. Lady Shenandoah, at $13, runs in the slot owned by poultry baron and big-time breeder John Camilleri, the man who bred Winx. And four-year-old stallion Angel Capital, at $17, is an up-and-comer who’s in the slot of James Harron, a heavyweight player in the worlds of owning and breeding horses.

Briasa, at $13, runs for a quartet of breeders and is a powerful sprinter and the hope of those who like greys, while $15 shot Tempted, the only three-year-old in the race, runs for her owners - the Godolphin racing conglomerate of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed. She gets in on the tiny weight of 51kg, and has drawn the coveted inside starting gate.

And those Hayes brothers have a $15 shot with a chance of toppling their old man in War Machine, who runs in the slot of breeding giants Coolmore and has won his past four starts, and very impressively.

FIRST WINNER

Redzel, in 2017

LAST WINNER

Bella Nipotina, in 2023

FASTEST WINNER

Yes Yes Yes, 2019 1:07.32 (still Randwick’s 1200m track record)

FORECAST: Sunny and partly cloudy, with a top of 21 degrees. The track was a soft 5 on Wednesday but should get into the good range on Saturday.

OTHER MAJOR RACES ON THE UNDERCARD (all times AEDT)

The King Charles III Stakes - Race 9, 5.35pm. A weight-for-age Group 1 worth $5 million. It’s actually the time-honoured George Main Stakes, now named after the King. This year, it’s to be run over the true mile - 1609m - instead of the metrics standard 1600m, for some reason of quirkiness and gimmickry, and to give contestants no hope of breaking the more standard 1600m record. Anyway, it’s a beauty. Top chances include British raider Lake Forest, who came here to raid our $10m second-richest race, the Golden Eagle, last spring. There’s also Chris Waller’s Fangirl, his second-best mare after Winx, and a winner of four G1s, plus crowd favourites Pride Of Jenni - the one that gets out to huge leads and often hangs on - and the enduring Mr Brightside, still winning Group 1s aged eight. There’s also Tom Kitten (his dad’s called Harry Angel), and Gringotts, which sounds like an affliction of the ear, but is also a very good six-year-old gelding.

The Kosciuszko (the mini-Everest, if you will) - Race 5, 2.50pm. A set-weights race for country-trained horses, aged three or older, over 1200m, and worth $2 million. Might nine-year-old Goulburn veteran Front Page win it, to go with his two past victories and a second place last year? Or will it be the Dubbo-trained Gallant Star, half-owned by Fox Sports’ own cricket commentator, raconteur and bizarre laugher, Kerry “Skull” O’Keeffe, and who has unparalleled colours of black with a hot pink skeletal skull.

The Silver Eagle - Race 8, 4.50pm. A 1300m event worth a million bucks for four-year-olds; a warm-up for The Golden Eagle in a couple of weeks. It features favourite Linebacker, and equal second faves Sabaj and Gerringong.

The Sydney Stakes - Group 3, Race 6, 3:25pm. A weight-for-age race for three-year-olds and upwards over 1200m. Even though it’s worth $2m, it’s something of a consolation for sprinters not going to the Everest. In fact, four of its entrants are the four Everest emergencies sweating on a run in the feature if something else is scratched. Watch for last-start winner Disneck, trained by the popular Bjorn Baker, and named after that unfortunate American gymnast who used to crash into the vaulting horse every week on Wide World Of Sports, Rick Disneck.

THE EVEREST FIELD

1. KA YING RISING (Barrier 7) 58.5kg Approx odds: $1.70 win/$1.11 place

FOR: Best sprinter in the world, according to international horse ratings, which give him a mark of 126, two points off top place. The next highest rater in this field is significantly lower, at 117. It’s hard enough to win two races in a row, but this five-year-old gelding has put together a “picket fence” so long it could ring a cricket ground - with fourteen 1s beside his name. Has a canny trainer in David Hayes, and has had luck in the barrier draw, with an ideal middle gate of seven.

AGAINST: Could get hit by lightning? His place dividend forms the dreaded “111” of English cricket superstition? We’re scraping the barrel here, because this looks like being one of the most special horses we’ve seen for a while. The main doubt with these travellers is how well they’ve adjusted to their new surrounds, especially the change of season from the northern autumn to the southern spring. But he’s been here a few weeks, and reports from the stable are that all’s well. So, let’s see what he’s got. It might take the breath away.

2. BRIASA (10) 58.5kg $13/$3

FOR: High class sprinter, 117-rater, in the big time stable of veteran John Hawkes and his two sons Michael and Wayne. Has won eight out of 12, including the G1 TJ Smith over this course and distance - and at weight-for-age - last autumn. Scored a strong 0.62 length win last start, beating Everest rivals Jimmysstar and Mazu into the minor placings. And if you like greys, he’s your boy, as the only one in this field.

AGAINST: Has a sticky gate in barrier 10, especially since he usually likes to be up on the speed. It’s harder to go forward and get close to the fence from a wide gate because you’re burning petrol to get up and across early. The last time he drew wide, last autumn, he dropped back from gate 13 and came home strongly but managed only fourth. It’s hard to give a head start to some of the world’s best sprinters here, and if he goes forward he’ll likely have to sit wide and cover extra ground. Place best.

3. OVERPASS (9) 58.5kg $51/$9

FOR: Trained at Sydney’s Warwick Farm by everyone’s favourite, the jovial expat Kiwi Bjorn Baker, and has built one of those great horse-jockey relationships with the very capable Josh Parr. Has won 10 times from 32 starts including three G1s. Loves the 1200m, especially at Perth’s Ascot, where he’s won four times in five starts, including the first two editions of their slot race, The Quokka.

AGAINST: He’s been a grand campaigner, winning $10m, but he’s now seven and his best days aren’t ahead of him. Were this at Ascot, you might get on, but at Randwick he’s won one from 11, including a sixth and a 10th in this race in 2022 and 2023. He’s back for another go after missing last year’s, but he’ll likely work hard early to get across to the lead from a wide gate. Others are better.

4. JIMMYSSTAR (11) 58.5kg $11/$2.60

FOR: Outstanding sprinter from the massive stable of Ciaron Maher, who had the most wins of any Australian trainer in season 2024-25, and won this race last year with Bella Nipotina. Has proven himself in a host of big races, winning nine of 20 including G1s at the varied distances of 1100m and 1400m. That shows his versatility and you know he’ll have strength at the finish over 1200m here. Top jockey in Ethan Brown.

AGAINST: Fared badly at the barrier draw with gate 11. He’ll likely go back from there but he does have a powerhouse finish, capable of running very slick sectional times in the last 400m, like when he nearly ran down Briasa last start, when a 0.62 length second. In a $20m race where everyone’s as keen as mustard, there’ll probably be a hot pace up front, meaning the leaders will be tiring just when he’s firing. Definite each way chance.

5. WAR MACHINE (4) 58.5kg $15/$3.20

FOR: Here’s a five-year-old gelding who’s really emerged in the past five months. He’s won all four starts in that time, including Brisbane biggest race, the 1400m G1 Stradbroke Handicap, and his last start over 1200m at Flemington in G2 class by two lengths. Drawn beautifully in gate four for excellent jockey Tim Clark. Can go forward or back so should get a great spot from there, and has won to 1400m, which is what you like to see for a high-pressure 1200m race like this. Trained by the Hayes boys, trying to knock off their dad’s horse Ka Ying Rising, and with seven wins in 14 starts, he could be bound for stardom.

AGAINST: Not a whole lot, but as with all the locals, you’ve got to imagine them being good enough to beat Ka Ying Rising. You’d think he’s probably not. Also this is his first go under the quality weight-for-age scale, so that’s a test he’ll have to pass. But he does look to have great ability. Place chance.

6. MAZU (2) 58.5kg $101/$20

FOR: He knows his way around this course, having run in two Everests among 12 goes at the Randwick 1200m, for four wins and five placings. Stuck on OK for third last start behind Briasa and Jimmysstar. Good trainer in Joe Pride, great jockey in Jason Collett, and fine barrier in two. Owned by the same mob who won the first two Everests with Redzel, Triple Crown Syndications, so carries the same colours as him.

AGAINST: This gelding looked like he might be anything three years ago, winning six in a row ending with a G1 sprint in Brisbane. But he’s gone off the boil in the past couple of years, winning only two of 29 starts. Was only called up late into this field when his slotholder’s original horse was injured. Ran third in this race in his golden year of 2022, but second-last at his latest attempt in 2023. Prefer others.

7. JEDIBEEL (8) 58.5kg $201/$33

FOR: Is in the field, and there’s an old saying about needing to be in the field to have a chance of winning something. Has won twice at Randwick, has a good trainer in Brad Widdup, and a fair barrier in eight.

AGAINST: His the rank outsider of the field, at odds the stingy bookies will rarely give you in a 12-horse field these days. That says a lot. Is filling the slot of his part-owners Mulberry Racing. They can do as they please of course, but it’s doubtful they’ll be going home with anything more than their slot fee. Ran a fair fourth last start in that Briasa, Jimmysstar, Mazu race, but this is a lot tougher.

8. ANGEL CAPITAL (3) 58.5kg $17/$3.50

FOR: Exciting young four-year-old stallion who looks to be going places. Was bought by the huge Yulong operation early this year after winning four of his first seven starts, and transferred from his old trainer to the all-conquering Chris Waller stable. After an injury, he’s only had two starts for Waller, for an easy win over 1200m and a G1 fourth over 1400m at Caulfield, when he probably should have won, dropping back from a wide gate, being blocked for a run in the straight, and rattling home when finally clear. Has an ideal barrier this time in three, and a handy, experienced jockey in Ben Melham.

AGAINST: Not a lot, but if you’re looking for doubts, he’s only raced the Sydney way around twice, for a fifth and a ninth, probably his worst two runs, though the track was rain affected each time too. Also, he’s another having his first try at weight-for-age, which can sort a few out. But he has loads of ability, and from gate three he should be in a good spot to pounce late. Definite each way chance.

9. JOLIESTAR (5) 56.5kg $7/$1.90

FOR: Star five-year-old mare who’s second-favourite and shares the second-highest rating of 117. Significant that Chris Waller chose her for the slot he owns, whereas two of the other runners he trains have been picked up by other slot holders, in Angel Capital and Lady Shenandoah. Also significant that James McDonald - the best rider in Australia if not the world - has chosen this ride. A three-time G1 winner up to 1600m, she has an electrifying finish on her, shown again when beating Briasa into a 1.2 length second at her only run this campaign, over 1100m at Randwick. Has raced eight times at the track for three wins and three placings.

AGAINST: Not much, but this will be her second run back from a spell, and her second-up record is plainer than her first-up, with one win from three tries. Also, females have only won one of the eight Everests, though the seal was broken last year by Bella Nipotina. Bookies say she’s the best chance of beating KYR, and they’re the ones with all the money.

10. LADY SHENANDOAH (6) 56.5kg $13/$2.90

FOR: This is a crack four-year-old, Waller-trained mare, with a top big race jockey in Damian Lane, and who might have sneaked under the radar at these odds. Was a sensation of last season with five wins from five starts, including two Group 1s. That was mostly against her own sex and she’s had two open class runs this time in, for a second and a fourth. She should have won the first of those, however, with bad luck in the straight, and had excuses for the second, drawing an outside gate and getting stuck wide at Moonee Valley, where she was also knocked about in a rough race.

AGAINST: That question again of being good enough to beat KYR. Her biggest wins last season were over considerably longer trips than this - 1500m and 1600m. Has she got the zip to beat a field like this over 1200m? Waller believes so, which is why he’s kept her to 1000m and 1200m in her two runs this campaign, with an eye on the Everest. She should have no problems finding a spot this time, from gate six, and watch for her to bounce back here. Each way.

11. MAGIC TIME (12) 56.5kg $71/$12

FOR: Six-year-old mare with an imposing CV of eight wins, two G1s, from 22 starts. Has a trainer who’s flying this season in Grahame Begg, and an excellent big-race jockey in Mickey Dee, who despite the name probably doesn’t eat at Maccas. Has won three times at this track, and has two runs under her belt this preparation, for a win at Caulfield and G1 third at Moonee Valley. Will wear blinkers for the first time, which usually sharpens them up.

AGAINST: That last start third, though in a G1, was a bit of a flat trial for this, hence she’ll start at easily the longest odds of her career - and the only time she’s been longer than $13. She’s been a quality sprinting mare for a long time, but she’s now six, and on that last-start third, you wonder how she’s come back this preparation, particularly when she usually goes well second-up from a spell. Outside barrier is a problem too. Prefer others.

12. TEMPTED (1) 51kg $15/$3.25

FOR: Highly talented filly trained by the great Ciaron Maher, who is thrown in with the three-year-old’s light weight of just 51kg. Three-year-olds have a strong record in this race, winning two of the eight stagings. This filly was a star two-year-old of last season with three wins and a heroic third in the juveniles’ big one, the Golden Slipper. Came back well with a 1.5 length win first-up over this distance at Rosehill to earn a crack at this race. Has fantastic, experienced, lightweight rider Craig Williams, who’s won two of the eight Everests, including 12 months ago with Bella Nipotina (earning Williams $350,000 for 68 seconds of work which is nice if you can get it).

AGAINST: After that brilliant first-up run, she disappointed when third at her last start in the G1 Golden Rose, against her fellow three-year-olds, finishing a distant 4.3 lengths off the winner. Up against older horses for the first time now, and she’ll find that tough, but that’s why she gets such a tiny weight. Still, while two three-year-old boys have won this race, three-year-old fillies haven’t fared as well, though one did manage fourth last year. Rough place best.

EMERGENCIES

13. IOWNA MERC $301/$49

14. GENEROSITY $201/$33

15. ROTHFIRE $201/$33

16. GOLDEN MILE $301/$49

Click here to read article