Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
It’s rare for a horse to race completely against its usual pattern and win and even rarer still to do it in a grand final such as the G1 The Everest, but that is what the outstanding sprinting mare Tempted (Street Boss {USA}) was able to do on Saturday at Randwick.
Tempted’s Everest triumph proves she’s the benchmark
That’s what Tempted (Street Boss {USA}) produced on Saturday. From gate 1, on a day when nothing won inside lane 6, she had to find enough early speed to hold a position before getting to the better ground.
Her average 200 metres split through the first half of The Everest was 11.3 seconds, roughly one and a half lengths per 200 metres quicker than she’d ever gone before.
After doing all that work, she still had to fend off the world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}).
His passage around Randwick’s 1200 metres was hardly ideal. But that wasn’t Zac Purton’s fault. Ka Ying Rising showed his usual Hong Kong speed out of the gates. The difference was that the Aussies had enough speed to hold him out, forcing Purton to find cover - which he eventually did.
A pub punter offered the familiar line: “Swap the runs, swap the result.”
“On what fu**ing basis?” I replied.
He must’ve missed Tempted’s runs since last year’s Everest, when she’d settled deep with cover before motoring down the middle to win. Give her Ka Ying Rising’s run and perhaps she wins by further?
We’ll never know. What we do know is that she found the early speed to hold a spot in the first five, then produced the fastest split in the field between the 400 metres and 200 metres.
Tempted winning the G1 TAB The Everest | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
That’s where she won it.
No wonder she was gassed inside the final 100 metres. Ka Ying Rising was entitled to finish strongly after the work she’d done. The fact he couldn’t get past her says plenty about Tempted, and why she might still be underrated.
Her overall time on soft ground was one of the quickest in Everest history, and her rating puts her at the top of Australian racing. Tempted’s figure is fractionally higher than Autumn Glow’s (The Autumn Sun) best in 2026, which is a touch ahead of Sheza Alibi (Saxon Warrior). That’s your pecking order.
Good to see Joliestar (Zoustar) run third. Those Royal Ascot trips have brought plenty of careers undone.
Autumn Glow leaves room for bigger targets in Melbourne
Speaking of Autumn Glow, she was good without being seriously tested in the G1 King Charles III Stakes. The tempo was even and the overall time just fair. It’ll be interesting to see how she handles Melbourne. Hopefully races like the G1 Lightning Stakes come into play, perhaps even an Everest in 2027.
Apocalyptic capitalises on hot tempo as Sheza Alibi looms
Apocalyptic (Extreme Choice) steamed home off a fast tempo in the Listed Silver Eagle, and Tommy Berry’s ride went a long way towards winning it. The leaders covered the first 700 metres more than five lengths quicker than standard, while her own opening split was bang on average for the grade. That gave her the chance to unleash late while others were tiring.
I couldn’t believe the betting moves for Beiwacht (Bivouac). No leaders won all day, yet punters hammered him. Of course, it could all be academic if Sheza Alibi turns up on Golden Eagle day. Hashtag different gravy.
Unleeshing flies late as Beyond The Reef flashes potential
Unleeshing (Dundeel {NZ}) had to produce the day’s fastest last 600 metres and 400 metres to win the G3 Angst Stakes. Her map looked terrible on paper and that’s how it played out. But a track favouring horses running on, combined with a mare who is simply airborne, was enough to overcome it. She’s a smoky for the G1 Empire Rose Stakes if they go that way.
She would’ve swept the late sectionals if not for Beyond The Reef (Flying Artie), who recorded the day’s fastest last 200 metres when winning the G3 Reginald Allen Quality. She could be a G3 Carbine Club Stakes prospect.
Caulfield Cup disappoints, Saintly Dancer follows a proven pattern
The G1 Caulfield Cup was a poor edition, rating well below standard, and nothing screamed: “forgive me”. To win a standard G1 Melbourne Cup, one of these would need to improve at least five lengths.
Saintly Dancer (NZ) (St Mark's Basilica {Fr}) won an okay edition of the Thousand Guineas. There was good speed, yet she only just bettered standard time. The stronger historical point is where the winners settle: all of the last five editions have gone to fillies racing in the first four, despite a decent variety of race shapes.
Sir Delius primed for Cox Plate redemption, but questions remain
It's G1 W.S Cox Plate week and while we missed our beloved Breakfast with the Best, I did watch Sir Delius (GB) (Frankel {GB}) stretch out nicely in a gallop on Tuesday morning against Birdman (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}).
The presence of Land Legend (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) and Light Infantry Man (Fr) (Fast Company {Ire}) are particularly useful for Sir Delius, who will be seeking redemption after a disastrous Cox Plate last year when ruled out based on his Melbourne Cup scan.
He thrives on tempo and looks set to get it. The query? Not much has come out of that G1 Turnbull Stakes meeting run on a bog track.
