Latest news with #TheEverest
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
John Hawkes: Ka Ying Rising still has a box to tick for The Everest
Hall of Fame trainer John Hawkes has provided his expert endorsement of the sprinting talents of The Everest favourite Ka Ying Rising – but with one qualification. 'Ka Ying Rising looks a really, really good horse but he has got to travel from Hong Kong and settle in here,'' Hawkes said. 'Most probably he will be fine but it is never easy when you are travelling a horse overseas. 'At least he has a very good trainer (Hall of Famer David Hayes) and he's a mature horse now. 'He should be OK and if he gets here without a problem then he is going to be hard beat but you never really know until they do it.'' There's nearly five months to the $20 million The TAB Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick on October 18 but Ka Ying Rising is the dominant $1.90 TAB Fixed Odds favourite ahead of Newcastle's unbeaten Private Harry at $6 and the Hawkes Racing -trained Briasa at $8. Ka Ying Rising is spelling after a perfect Hong Kong season where he won all his eight starts brilliantly, including four at Group 1 level culminating with his runaway win in the Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin in late April. The John Size-trained Helios Express, who was placed in seven races behind Ka Ying Rising this season, made the most of his formidable rival's absence with a fast-finishing win in the Group 3 Sha Tin Handicap on Saturday night, running a fast 1m 8.14s. But the very talented Helios Express is being called Hong Kong's version of Hay List, the outstanding sprinter who was unfortunately born in the same era as the unbeatable Black Caviar and often ran second, albeit well beaten, behind the great mare. Ka Ying Rising has not yet been locked in by a slot-holder for The Everest but this seems only a matter of time with Hong Kong Jockey Club in advanced talks with slot-holder Australian Turf Club. The Hawkes-trained Briasa is a confirmed Everest starter after being snapped up by slot-holders Max Whitby, Neil Werrett and Col Madden. Briasa is spelling after winning the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick during The Championships in April before finishing fourth to Jimmysstar in the All Aged Stakes. Hawkes, who trains in partnership with his sons Wayne and Michael, said Briasa and the stable's other autumn Group 1 winners, Nepotism (Champagne Stakes) and Devil Night (Blue Diamond Stakes) will return to light work this month. 'The good thing with Briasa is he's already qualified (slot) for The Everest, so it's great to get that out of the way,'' Hawkes said. 'The Everest is a very tough race, it won't be easy to win, but we are in with a chance. 'We are only planning to give Briasa one or two runs before The Everest. Horses like him won't have too many runs each preparation as that way they can keep racing for longer.'' The Hawkes stable also had success with Liberty State at Rosehill Gardens last Saturday with the smart mare overcoming a wide run to score an impressive first-up win. Liberty State, who helped boost the Hawkes stable's earnings for the 2024-25 season to a personal-best $10.87 million and counting, also earned praise from winning rider, Dylan Gibbons. 'Ideally I would have been happy with three deep, four deep wasn't part of the plan,'' Gibbons said. 'But when you are out there, there isn't much you can do so I was happy to leave her in her rhythm. 'She seemed to love that ground, there was no kickback in her face, and it gave her the chance to explode.'' Gibbons is hoping he can retain the ride on Liberty State as the mare has an unbeaten second-up record. 'Normally, I'm a big believer when horses go so well first-up they can taper off at their second runs back,'' Gibbons said. 'But I told Michael (Hawkes) and her owners I would not be surprised if that hasn't knocked the wind out of her at all. 'She seemed to pull up in good order and came back in like it was nothing. It will be interesting to see what sort of level she can get to now on the basis of that win.''
Courier-Mail
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Courier-Mail
How Joliestar's owner went from nothing to selling his business for $660m and buying Cambridge Stud
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Cambridge Stud owner Brendan Lindsay will be at Eagle Farm on Saturday to cheer on his superstar mare Joliestar but he vividly remembers how he was once so broke that he slept in his car. New Zealander Lindsay didn't know where his next dollar was coming from when he was making plastic coat hangers in a downtrodden garage in Cambridge several decades ago. Fast forward to 2016 and Lindsay sold his plastics business for $660m. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! With wife Jo, he then took a major gamble when buying legendary Cambridge Stud from Sir Patrick Hogan the following year. * Group 1 winning hoops involved in physical Doomben stoush Joliestar, who races in the Cambridge Stud black and gold chequers, is one of the flag-bearers of his operation as a two-time Group 1 winner, including scoring the famed Newmarket Handicap down the Flemington straight in March. The Chris Waller-trained mare is set to start as favourite for the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup on Saturday and seems poised to have another crack at The Everest later this year after being luckless in the $20m race in 2024. It's a far cry from how Lindsay started out. 'I can assure you, I didn't know where my next dollar was coming from,' Lindsay told Racenet. Brendan Lindsay with James McDonald after Joliestar won the Thousand Guineas in 2023. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images 'We started in a garage at home, we had tarpaulins on the side of the garage because I couldn't put padding on the outside. 'We just didn't have any money. 'Honestly, I would go away on selling trips and sleep in the back of the car. 'When you do get a little bit of money, racing is a passion. 'Some folks race cars, some race boats, we race horses. 'Racing is addictive. 'The highs and lows of racing are just so massive. 'There was the high of going to The Everest with Joliestar and then coming home empty-handed. 'For me that's part of the enjoyment of it, if it was easy then everyone would be doing it. 'I always take the view when we get beaten that it's someone's else turn, good luck to them.' Joliestar romped home in the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington in March. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images • 'It does hurt': Shailer's Group 1 search rocked by barrier Lindsay says buying the iconic Cambridge Stud was a bold step into the unknown because, even though he had owned horses for 15 years, he isn't a 'horse person'. 'I'd never ridden horses. I've never led a horse. Yes, we like horses, but I don't know how to foal a horse down,' Lindsay said. 'I wasn't brought up on a (stud) farm, it was a massive gamble because it was a huge learning adventure.' Lindsay will be in a corporate box at Eagle Farm as he watches Joliestar try to reel off her third career Group 1. He has indicated the star four-year-old is likely to race on for another 12 months before a boom breeding career beckons. He gave an insight into how Joliestar, who he parted with $950,000 to purchase as a yearling in 2022, has added another fabulous chapter to the Cambridge Stud story. 'Annabel Archibald once said to me, there's nothing like your colours racing in Australia because people recognise the yellow and black colours as being your Cambridge Stud brand,' Lindsay said. • 'They'll know he's in the race': Giga Kick primed to deliver breakthrough 'Annabel doesn't train any horses for us, but I thought it was quite an interesting thing to say. 'From our point of view, you want to race horses in Australia because it is like competing at the Olympic Games. 'From a business point of view it's fantastic, racing at the elite level against the best horses in Australia and having your colours on show and promoting your business that way, it's free advertising really. 'We always knew we had a pretty good horse on our hands, but to win a Group 1 down the straight at Flemington in commanding fashion was pretty special. 'We are thinking we will race her on next season because The Everest last year was such a disappointment. 'We didn't get best of rides that day, and I've always felt that race is one you always want to have on your calendar.' Joliestar, with James McDonald to ride, has drawn barrier 13 in the Kingsford Smith Cup and is the $3 favourite. Originally published as How Joliestar's owner Brendan Lindsay went from nothing to selling his business for $660m and buying Cambridge Stud
Sydney Morning Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rosehill survives the vote, but will McGauran survive as ATC chairman?
Some have put their names to the campaign, others have operated via the dark arts of behind-the-scenes backstabbing and whispering, wanting others to do the knifing. That anti-V'landys block was vehemently opposed to the sale of Rosehill from the day it was first clumsily mooted by NSW Premier Chris Minns in late 2023. When others with huge influence in the industry joined the no campaign, it was all over. One of them was Chris Waller, the champion trainer of Winx, whose powerful stable is based at Rosehill and is backed by the nation's top owners. Once Waller and Gai were against it, it was dead as a dodo. The writing was truly on the wall when the final vote was delayed three times at the insistence of Racing NSW. Behind the scenes, officials scrambled to put a coherent plan together and came up with a doozy as they started throwing inducements like confetti at members. As of April 30 this year, all financial members were to be given free memberships for five years (usually costing $500) plus a $1000 food-and-beverage voucher each year. But even giving each member what basically amounted to a bribe of $7500 in contra was still not enough. Now that the sale won't go ahead, the ATC, and racing in general, are in a precarious situation. The huge price to be paid by the state government, which would then on-sell the land to developers, is predicated on an immediate sale because tunnelling for the 24 kilometre underground Metro line from Parramatta to the CBD is under way, and near Rosehill. If a Metro station is to be built at Rosehill, a decision is needed now, and it will only be built if 25,000 units and townhouses are on the site of the racetrack. So, if Rosehill is to be sold for housing in the future with no Metro station, estimates put the value of the land at about a fifth of today's price, or $1 billion. Members also ignored the fact the ATC has been living beyond its means. The club posted a $2.4 million operating loss in the 2023-24 financial year and a loss of $9.9 million the year before. It also owes Racing NSW about $50 million. That's despite the fact the club owns Rosehill, Warwick Farm and Canterbury freeholds, and leases Randwick from the state government for the peppercorn rent of only $1 a year and has a contract until the year 2107. Loading Wagering revenue is under extreme pressure in racing as it faces threats from other sports. Gambling on rugby league and NBA basketball, for instance, has boomed and shows no sign of slowing down. A sale would have guaranteed racing's future for generations, with facilities modernised and prizemoney retained at the current record levels. In 2016, the year before V'landys created The Everest, which has reinvigorated racing, total prizemoney across all races in NSW stood at $196 million. In 2024, it was $410 million. There has been incredible growth, but it will fall into a deep hole – and fast – as racing will have to go it alone. After this, no state government for a generation will help the club fix run-down facilities at Rosehill, Warwick Farm or Canterbury. And members who voted no must start attending racing at Rosehill again. The racing public simply doesn't turn up, despite the number of races Winx won there or the number of Slipper winners TJ Smith trained there back in the day. Ironically, attendance has been hurt by the government's closure of Rosehill train station. Only 12,111 people attended the Golden Slipper meeting this year, despite enormous promotion from the ATC and Racing NSW. The governing bodies also heavily back the $10 million Golden Eagle each spring, throwing everything at it, only for Rosehill to resemble a wasteland on the day, with a few thousand attending last year. In the 2023-24 racing season, fewer than 100,000 attended the 25 meetings, a figure down more than 90,000 from a decade ago.
The Age
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Rosehill survives the vote, but will McGauran survive as ATC chairman?
Some have put their names to the campaign, others have operated via the dark arts of behind-the-scenes backstabbing and whispering, wanting others to do the knifing. That anti-V'landys block was vehemently opposed to the sale of Rosehill from the day it was first clumsily mooted by NSW Premier Chris Minns in late 2023. When others with huge influence in the industry joined the no campaign, it was all over. One of them was Chris Waller, the champion trainer of Winx, whose powerful stable is based at Rosehill and is backed by the nation's top owners. Once Waller and Gai were against it, it was dead as a dodo. The writing was truly on the wall when the final vote was delayed three times at the insistence of Racing NSW. Behind the scenes, officials scrambled to put a coherent plan together and came up with a doozy as they started throwing inducements like confetti at members. As of April 30 this year, all financial members were to be given free memberships for five years (usually costing $500) plus a $1000 food-and-beverage voucher each year. But even giving each member what basically amounted to a bribe of $7500 in contra was still not enough. Now that the sale won't go ahead, the ATC, and racing in general, are in a precarious situation. The huge price to be paid by the state government, which would then on-sell the land to developers, is predicated on an immediate sale because tunnelling for the 24 kilometre underground Metro line from Parramatta to the CBD is under way, and near Rosehill. If a Metro station is to be built at Rosehill, a decision is needed now, and it will only be built if 25,000 units and townhouses are on the site of the racetrack. So, if Rosehill is to be sold for housing in the future with no Metro station, estimates put the value of the land at about a fifth of today's price, or $1 billion. Members also ignored the fact the ATC has been living beyond its means. The club posted a $2.4 million operating loss in the 2023-24 financial year and a loss of $9.9 million the year before. It also owes Racing NSW about $50 million. That's despite the fact the club owns Rosehill, Warwick Farm and Canterbury freeholds, and leases Randwick from the state government for the peppercorn rent of only $1 a year and has a contract until the year 2107. Loading Wagering revenue is under extreme pressure in racing as it faces threats from other sports. Gambling on rugby league and NBA basketball, for instance, has boomed and shows no sign of slowing down. A sale would have guaranteed racing's future for generations, with facilities modernised and prizemoney retained at the current record levels. In 2016, the year before V'landys created The Everest, which has reinvigorated racing, total prizemoney across all races in NSW stood at $196 million. In 2024, it was $410 million. There has been incredible growth, but it will fall into a deep hole – and fast – as racing will have to go it alone. After this, no state government for a generation will help the club fix run-down facilities at Rosehill, Warwick Farm or Canterbury. And members who voted no must start attending racing at Rosehill again. The racing public simply doesn't turn up, despite the number of races Winx won there or the number of Slipper winners TJ Smith trained there back in the day. Ironically, attendance has been hurt by the government's closure of Rosehill train station. Only 12,111 people attended the Golden Slipper meeting this year, despite enormous promotion from the ATC and Racing NSW. The governing bodies also heavily back the $10 million Golden Eagle each spring, throwing everything at it, only for Rosehill to resemble a wasteland on the day, with a few thousand attending last year. In the 2023-24 racing season, fewer than 100,000 attended the 25 meetings, a figure down more than 90,000 from a decade ago.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Clayton Douglas has Giga Kick primed for breakthrough win in Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup
'They will know he is in the race.' So says Giga Kick's trainer Clayton Douglas as the multiple Group 1 winner and 2022 The Everest champion aims up to try to snap a winning drought stretching back more than two years. • Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg Polson and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! A lot of water has gone under the bridge since Giga Kick's last triumph, his win in the Doomben 10,000 of 2023. He was sidelined for more than a year with injury, returning last spring and finishing runner-up in The Everest he had won two years earlier. Giga Kick had his first run in 2025 when starting the $2.10 favourite in The Goodwood in Adelaide, only to finish third after getting too far back and then being speared off the track. Giga Kick has never raced at Eagle Farm, the venue for Saturday's Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup where he is one of the key fancies. But, after giving him a spin around a foggy Eagle Farm on Tuesday morning, Douglas said: 'I think the big track at Eagle Farm is really going to suit him. Giga Kick, the dual Group 1-winner and 2022 The Everest champ, gallops at Eagle Farm this morning ahead of Saturday’s $1m Kingsford Smith Cup. 🎥: @bendorries76 — Racenet (@RacenetTweets) May 26, 2025 'They will know he is in the race. 'He has tightened right up and with a three-week gap between runs, he has been able to get some nice pieces of work in. 'He seems to be absolutely thriving up here in Queensland and I am really happy with him.' While Douglas was disappointed with the result in Adelaide, he was far from disappointed with Giga Kick's run. And he believes that now stepping up from 1200m to 1300m will be right in his stable star's sweet spot. Trainer Clayton Douglas talks up Giga Kick's prospects in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday. 🎥 via @bendorries76 STORY: @c_douglasracing @Racing_QLD — Racenet (@RacenetTweets) May 27, 2025 'In the run in transit in The Goodwood, he ended up too far back in the race and then there was a bit of a scrimmage in front of him and he was speared off the track,' Douglas said. 'He rattled to the line. 'Off that run, it looks like the 1300(m) of the Kingsford Smith will be ideal for him. 'He worked good at Eagle Farm this morning and I'm rapt with how he is going.' Giga Kick will carry 59kg on Saturday as he faces off against the likes of Newmarket Handicap champion Joliestar, resuming Group 1 winner Private Eye and local hero Rothfire. He has drawn barrier 10 of 14 in the Kingsford Smith Cup field and will be ridden by Mark Zahra. When Stradbroke Handicap weights were released on Monday, Giga Kick was whacked with 58.5kg topweight in Queensland's most prestigious race. It means he is unlikely to race in the Stradbroke, although Douglas didn't completely rule it out. 'I would think he would be unlikely to run in the Stradbroke with 58.5(kg),' Douglas said. 'But it will be a nice problem to have if we burst clear Saturday and win easily and he pulls up well. 'If that happens, we would have a think about it. 'But he's probably really badly in the weights in the Stradbroke, albeit he deserves it, he's won a few Group 1s and an Everest. 'He will carry 59(kg) on Saturday but the issue with the big weight in the Stradbroke is that it's relative to what every other horse is going to carry in that race.'
