Ciaron Maher's Tempted beat Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising by a head in the $20 million Everest at Randwick, ending a winning streak that stretched back more than 1000 days.
The $20 million Everest at Randwick produced one of the shocks of the spring on Saturday, with Tempted beating Hong Kong champion Ka Ying Rising by a head.
Trained by Ciaron Maher and ridden by Chad Schofield, Tempted jumped from barrier 1 and settled closer to the speed than many expected. Ka Ying Rising (Zac Purton, David Hayes), the defending champion and dominant favourite, drew barrier 11, was caught wide and could not find his usual early speed. He hit the line hard but could not reach the winner. Chris Waller's Joliestar (James McDonald) finished third. The track had been upgraded to a Soft 5 during the day.
A streak ends
The defeat ended a run of 21 straight wins for Ka Ying Rising, including last year's Everest. His previous loss came on 21 January 2024, when he went down by a short head to Wunderbar at Sha Tin. A win would have made him only the second dual Everest winner after Redzel (2017 and 2018). Hayes did not rule out a return next year.
For Tempted, it was a sixth straight win since last year's Everest and confirmation that he is now one of the best sprinters in the country.
The punting lesson
Unbeaten runs make for short prices, and short prices carry risk. The barrier and the run of the race beat Ka Ying Rising as much as the winner did. When you are weighing up a short-priced favourite, look at the draw, the likely speed and the track as well as the form. For our approach to finding value against the favourite, see our betting strategies.
Hong Kong punters bet a record HK$113 million on the race, the most ever wagered there on a simulcast.