Strong words about people he has never met, never called and, by his own cheerful admission, knows absolutely nothing about.
The At The Races presenter's rant – the Ka Ying Rising syndicate is "offensive," its billionaire figurehead should "get a life" – was built on one foundation: quotes given to the Racing Post by bloodstock agent Michael Marais, who declared the champion's Royal Ascot prospects "not even up for debate."
Here is the problem. Does Marais speak for the Ka Ying Syndicate? He sourced the horse at one stage of its long journey to stardom and deserves lasting credit for it, but he does not work in trainer David Hayes’ stable and it seems he was not authorized to deliver categorical verdicts on the owner's behalf. Seems he was speaking out of school, to a journalist who should have known better than to run a freelanced quote as settled policy without a phone call to Hong Kong.
Chapman took that overreach and sprinted with it.
He complained it is "very hard to know" who is in the syndicate, wondering darkly who "we're dealing with here." Information about the Ka Ying Rising camp is not hard to find. Neither, for that matter, is Marais – simply locate the nearest winning photo and scan for the man shoehorned into frame.
The syndicate is registered with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which polices ownership more rigorously than any jurisdiction on earth. Its representative, Leung Shek-kong, has said precisely nothing in public about Royal Ascot. Chapman spent ten minutes flogging a man for words he never said. "I say that without any knowledge," he conceded mid-rant. At last, a checkable fact.
The people who do have standing have been talking all along, politely and on the record. Hayes, unfailingly gracious with the press through a 20-race winning streak, has explained the logistics until hoarse: an Ascot raid in June means no break – Hong Kong to England, back, then on to Sydney for The Everest. Four months, three continents, no let-up at any stage for a horse he wants racing for seasons to come.
Without The Everest, Hayes says, Ascot would be a no-brainer. The door for 2027 remains ajar, and the trainer has confirmed the top hat and tails are ready (but would that mean giving up his lucky brown suit?). Zac Purton has made the same point: the owner does not need the money, and he treasures the horse. Forty years in the game have taught Hayes exactly what he is holding. He is protecting it. That is not greed. It’s just simple, sound horsemanship.
Which leaves a question worth sitting with. When an Australian pub syndicate weighs Everest millions against Ascot prestige, the British press writes a feelgood yarn about battlers and top hats. When a Hong Kong businessman is merely reported to have done the same sums – by somebody else – he is branded pathetic, legacy-free and "nothing." Why does the benefit of the doubt only travel in one direction? Readers here, and those reading this column in Chinese, can draw their own conclusions.
The strangest part: in the same broadcast, Chapman lamented that flat racing struggles because fans cannot connect with its stars. Handed the most connectable racehorse on the planet – unbeaten in 20, adored across Asia, box office from Sha Tin to Randwick – he chose to torch the people around the horse rather than pick up a telephone.
They are not hard to reach – they are quoted often and directly – ripping into strangers half a world away is easy, journalism takes slightly longer.
