'It's the biggest thrill in my life' - Ka Ying Rising reaches the summit with 14th consecutive victory in Group 1 Everest

Superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising proved himself on the big stage once again when registering his 14th consecutive victory in the A$20 million Group 1 Everest at Randwick.

Trained by David Hayes, who described the success as his greatest achievement, the five-year-old took his overall record to 15 wins from 17 starts on his first outing outside of Hong Kong.

Hayes said: "It's certainly the biggest thrill in my life. It's been the longest ten days in my life, I think. Better Loosen Up was the last world champion-rated horse I've trained, and this is the next one. There's been a lot of good horses in between, but these are the two stars."

Hayes raised concerns that saddling Ka Ying Rising before the race could have resulted in problems, but his five-time top-level winner was very relaxed.

He said: "I'm so relieved. When he saddled up calm, he had to really run below form not to win today, but I couldn't say that, I couldn't be cocky. I would've been so disappointed if he didn't win when he saddled up calm."

Zac Purton has now ridden Ka Ying Rising to 13 victories in 15 rides, and he was delighted to have achieved more history on the son of Shamexpress.

He said: "To have one champion, Beauty Generation, that was unbelievable. Now to have a second one, and he's probably a better horse.

Zac Purton celebrates on Ka Ying RisingCredit: Jeremy Ng (Getty Images)

"He had a beautiful run in the race. Ethan Brown [Jimmysstar's rider] was trying to sneak up on my outside, but we just had to make sure we had the room, which was pretty easy because of the pace of the race.

"Overpass skipped for him early and I had to chase him. To my horse's credit, he wasn't letting him go. He got the better of me in the trial, and we said that he's not going to get the better of me in the race. We chased him down and coasted to the line."

On the same card, the William Haggas-trained Lake Forest finished last of 12 in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes, while stablemate Sam Hawkens, who was sent off favourite for the Group 3 St Leger Stakes, had to settle for seventh.

• From a $500 mare to a global sprinting star - the remarkable tale of Ka Ying Rising 

World pool record

The Everest set a new record for World Pool turnover on a single race of HK$83,024,693 (£8m/€9m). The previous all-time high was HK$66,197,958, bet on the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2023.

Sam Nati, head of commingling at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: "The World Pool turnover record has been absolutely smashed by Ka Ying Rising’s incredible performance in The Everest. When Wellington travelled to Royal Ascot in 2023 it resulted in a turnover record of over HK$66 million, while Romantic Warrior’s presence in the Saudi Cup this year saw betting on that race shoot into the all-time top five, but today has blown those out of the water.

"Ka Ying Rising taking on the Australian sprinters, who are notorious for being some of the world’s best, felt like a world title boxing fight and it’s clearly captured the attention of racing fans around the globe."

History made at Caulfield

There was a moment of history in the Caulfield Cup as Jamie Melham became the first female jockey to win the Group 1 with Half Yours.

It was also a special moment for the father-son partnership of Tony and Calvin McEvoy, who trained the five-year-old to a memorable success.

Tony McEvoy said: "This is why we do it, to have a runner in this, but they're very hard to win. That was incredible. He's come along way in six months and travelling really grows horses up. He was a big, raw horse and we took him to Queensland, and it's been the making of him.

When asked what it felt like to do it with his son, Calvin, Tony added: "I think he might be nice to me for a while now. It's very important and what a proud moment it's been for me to do it with Calvin, it's really enjoyable.

An emotional Calvin added: "In this game it's very hard to get a start, so I'm lucky to be in a privileged position and I love it. Jamie is class. People have been saying she's a little bit out of form, but class is permanent."

The Willie Mullins-trained Absurde finished seventh, while Meydaan was two positions back in ninth for Simon and Ed Crisford. Vauban, a Grade 1 winner for Mullins but now trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, finished 13th.

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