INSIDE TRACK: From practice to the pool: Ka Ying Rising sets stage for The Everest

Last week we called Ka Ying Rising’s pre-Everest barrier trial the highest-profile in racing history. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that, in the days since, the 1000-metre “practice match” has become the most scrutinized.

If Ka Ying Rising could hold a press conference himself, it might sound a little like when NBA great Allen Iverson – a fierce competitor and league MVP at the time –  famously scoffed at the media when questioned about his training habits in 2002: “We’re talking about practice? Not a game. Practice.” 

Few ever showed more heart on a basketball court than Iverson, yet here we are again, stuck talking about a champion and practice.

Trainer David Hayes warned there would be “no fireworks” in Tuesday’s trial at Randwick – that it was mostly “an observation exercise.” Among those observations came from jockey Zac Purton, who described Ka Ying Rising’s work through Sydney’s softer ground as “grinding.”

Some joked Purton was attempting “a reverse Dermot Weld,” invoking the wily Irishman who used to fire shots via the media before Melbourne Cups that his hurdlers needed the track watered. Hayes and Purton, of course, want the opposite – a runway like Sha Tin’s fast, firm strip, where Ka Ying Rising carves out sectionals that break clocks and rivals’ hearts alike.

While the post-trial chatter centered on the surface and Ka Ying Rising’s suitability to it, the next big talking point will be betting and the fascinating World Pool dynamic about to unfold.

This is exactly the scenario the system was built for: a Hong Kong-trained hero starting short-priced favourite against 11 Australian heavyweights, with punters around the world feeding into one enormous parimutuel pool.

It’s also the type of contest Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges imagined when he first floated his commingling dream at the Asian Racing Conference in 2007.

“The idea was always to use world-class sport to create world-class liquidity,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said in a recent interview with Idol Horse. “If you combine the major races of the world in one pool, you build a premium product – and a new income stream for the industry.”

That premium product will have its biggest moment yet at Randwick. World Pool turnover records from both Royal Ascot and the Cox Plate are within reach and the alignment of The Everest and Caulfield Cup on the same day provides an extraordinary wagering opportunity.

Romantic Warrior’s 2023 Cox Plate win attracted HK$59.95 million (A$10.9 m) in World Pool turnover – the highest ever for an Australian race – while the 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot holds the global record at HK$66.2 million (A$12.9 m). With Ka Ying Rising’s 13-race winning streak and immense Hong Kong following, officials believe both marks could fall.

When a Hong Kong horse runs in a World Pool race, the pattern is well established: patriotic betting from home surges first, global investors respond by recalibrating the market, and liquidity then spreads across the field. The result is a more competitive and truly international marketplace – exactly what Engelbrecht-Bresges had envisioned nearly two decades ago.

For Australia, the benefits go well beyond one horse. The Everest’s partnership with the HKJC guarantees international attention, wider wagering reach and new-era revenue. “The tote” was once the lifeblood of the Australian industry, but it has been on life support for years. When the gates open on October 18, money from nearly 30 countries will swirl through one system — a jolt of liquidity for a wagering model badly in need of it.

For punters brave enough to oppose the Hong Kong superstar, this could also be the chance of a lifetime. As patriotic money floods in for Ka Ying Rising, every rival’s price will drift. There will be plenty of punters cheering against Ka Ying Rising based upon the price they are getting alone. 

And if the racing world gets this excited over watching Ka Ying Rising practice, imagine the noise when it’s finally time for the game.