Tempted has turned back the Hong Kong tide holding off Ka Ying Rising to win The Everest at Randwick on Saturday.
Tempted jockey Chad Schofield was determined to use barrier one to its fullest effect and got his timing “inch-perfect” at every stage of the race.
Tempted held her place for the first couple of hundred metres before taking a trail and relaxing until the home the home turn before Schofield used her explosiveness to put three lengths on her rivals.
Meanwhile Ka Ying Rising was out five-wide working, as they charged through the first 600m in 33.93 seconds from a standing stand.
TEMPTED SLAYS THE GIANT 🤯
AUSTRALIA’S BEST SPRINTER BEATS THE KING OF THE WORLD 💙 pic.twitter.com/8dSVOGVdRb
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 17, 2026
Schofield said Tempted had the perfect run.
”First time I’ve really ridden her and asked her from the start. I normally just ride her to relax and trust her to be far too good late,” he said post race
“But it was a different race today. We had the world’s best sprinter, the world’s best horse. I had eyes for him, and I knew he wasn’t up there and I held my spot and kept him deep and I’m pretty sure that made Zac (Purton, Ka Ying Rising’s jockey) have to come back.
“From there, I had the perfect trip. I came off from behind the two leaders, and I hit the front very early, a long way out. But she’s such a good horse, she’s so brave and so game.”
Schofield said it wasn’t the plan to be as forward in the run from barrier 1.
”It wasn’t our plan. Ciaron just said, let her be. If she wants to be there, let her be there. He felt in this race last year she was a pair further back than she needed to be. I jumped, I gave her a squeeze, and like always, she was there for me and she delivered,” he said.
“She’s getting better, that’s all I’ll say. I rode her as a three-year-old and she came back so much stronger. She was amazing first-up, she was even better second-up. I reckon she went to a new level there today. She’s had three runs this prep and got better each time, why won’t she keep improving now as a four-year-old.”
