Ka Ying comes up short in bid for second Everest win

Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising lost his first race in 22 starts on Saturday after being stunned by Tempted on a soft track at the world's richest turf race, The Everest, in Sydney. The six-year-old gelding, with Zac Purton in the saddle, was a huge favourite but drew an outside barrier and was unable to get the job done at Royal Randwick, finishing second. Tempted, last year's runner-up to Ka Ying Rising and ridden by Chad Schofield, instead took the honours and A$7 million for barely a one-minute dash. The Chris Waller-trained Joliestar, steered by James McDonald, was third. "Amazing. I thought she would run a personal best. I'm thrilled," Tempted trainer Ciaron Maher said. "We had to take a position. Chad knew what he had underneath him. She had to be phenomenal, and she was." The four-year-old mare had been unbeaten since being pipped at The Everest last year and there was concern that the soft track, after heavy recent rain, could hinder Ka Ying Rising, who has done the bulk of his racing on Hong Kong's firm surfaces at Sha Tin. Rated as the best thoroughbred on the planet, he drew barrier 11 in the 12-horse race and left his charge too late after...