Chris Waller admits ‘it looks a tough ask’ to beat champion Ka Ying Rising in The Everest

Chris Waller concedes “it looks a tough ask” to beat Ka Ying Rising as Sydney’s leading trainer bids to dethrone the Hong Kong champion with a dual-pronged assault on Saturday’s Group One The Everest (1,200m) at Randwick.

New Zealand-born Waller will saddle top sprinter Joliestar and Angel Capital in the A$20 million (HK$109.87 million) feature, but he rates Ka Ying Rising as clearly the horse to beat despite the prospect of an unsuitable wet track.

A sensational winner of 21 consecutive races, including last year’s The Everest, Ka Ying Rising is yet to be tested on a track worse than good to yielding and Randwick was downgraded to heavy on Wednesday after 66mm of rain the day before.

“He’s a superstar, Ka Ying Rising, and superstars generally find ways to get themselves out of trouble and track conditions are one of those things, so he’s certainly the horse to beat,” Waller said.

“It’s just great for the race and great for Australian racing to have horses on the international stage competing with us. It makes our race better.

“It gives us the chance to beat the horse – it’s our home track compared to him having to travel, so that brings him back a little bit.

“Hopefully, one of the Australian horses can beat him, but it looks a tough ask.

“The weather is not ideal but I think come Saturday it will improve and the tracks in Sydney are racing well.

“Of course, it won’t be rock hard but we don’t want that anyway. It will be a forgiving surface and should give all horses their best chance and I’ve got no concerns at all about the track.”

The Randwick track is tipped to improve in the lead-up to Saturday with only a small chance of more rain forecast.

A dual winner of The Everest with Yes Yes Yes (2019) and Nature Strip (2021), Waller will team up with the world’s best jockey James McDonald with Joliestar, who ran a close third to Almeraq and Japanese sprinter Satono Reve in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m) at Royal Ascot in June.

“She’s drawn well, which is great,” Waller said of the 10-time winner, who jumps from gate five.

“We’ve got James McDonald on board, arguably the world’s best jockey, and she’s in fine form. Her first-up run was good and she’s ready to peak.

“James was disappointed that last year that things didn’t work out for her [when fifth to Ka Ying Rising in The Everest] and he’s probably thought about it since and we get our chance again this year and he knows her so well.”

Angel Capital will also bid for redemption in The Everest, having run sixth behind Ka Ying Rising last year. He has drawn gate two.

“Angel Capital was a little bit unlucky in the race last year and he’s gone on and won a Group 1 since then and he’s in career-best form so he’s also drawn a good barrier and with good speed expected, that would really play into the hands of a horse like Angel Capital,” Waller said.

“He’s a big, strong horse. A high-pressure race is what he wants and last year you could say that they went a little bit slower than anticipated. He needs a really high-pressure race.

“Some of the better horses have drawn out wide. They’ll be surging across to find a position, to not cover too much ground. The horses on the inside will be making sure they’re holding their positions or they’ll get put out the back and it will be just a race for the front runners, so it’s setting up to be a good contest and it should suit a horse like Angel Capital.”