July
MayWe are the champions
English clickbait merchant Matt Chapman seems to have forgotten one significant point when he bemoans the Ka Ying Rising syndicate’s “complete lack of willing(ness) to try and create world history” (Matt Stewart, 11/7). Which is that European sprinters aren’t the world’s best, and the sprint races at Royal Ascot are nowhere near a world championship.
If you want to test your sprinter against the world’s best, you run it in the Everest, not the King Charles III or the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee.
History says that when Australia sends a genuine star sprinter to Royal Ascot, it wins more often than not.
Let’s not forget Asfoora won the King Charles III in 2024, when few Aussies would have had her in our top half-dozen sprinters.
She ended up winning three Group 1s in Europe but couldn’t win one in Australia. She was second to Imperatriz in the 2023 Moir Stakes over her pet trip (1000m), and Imperatriz was better at 1200m.
What would Imperatriz at her best have done to them at Royal Ascot.
This year Overpass and Joliestar placed in their big sprints. There’s a case for Joliestar being our best at present, but she’s no Choisir, Miss Andretti, Takeover Target or Black Caviar.
And she was no match for Ka Ying Rising in the Everest.
Remember when the Coolmore tycoons tried using their Everest slot on Aidan O’Brien-trained sprinters?
It only took two years of abject failure for them to realise the futility of that endeavour.
Matt Chapman saying Ka Ying Rising needs to go to Royal Ascot to prove himself is like Australians saying Kyprios can’t be called a champion because he never won a Melbourne Cup (which, unlike the Royal Ascot sprints, is at least worth decent coin).
If the world championship of turf sprinting isn’t the Everest, what is it?
You might think the Breeders’ Cup would have a contender, but its only open-age turf sprint is over five furlongs (1006m) and worth a paltry $US1 million ($A1.43m).
Have a guess how many Australian races from 1000m to 1400m were worth more than that in 2025/26.
The answer is 25.
Cremorne (Vic)