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The latest in world horse racing news from the journalists at Idol Horse.
IDOL HORSE NEWS DESK PODCAST
Ka Ying Rising's 1:06.11 — Shane Dye and David Morgan
Recorded Monday 7 September 2026 | Published Tuesday 8 September 2026
SPEAKERS
Michael Cox — Host, Idol Horse
Shane Dye — Idol Horse columnist ("Idol Thoughts")
David Morgan — Chief Journalist, Idol Horse
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[00:00] MICHAEL COX: Welcome to the Idol Horse News Desk podcast. I'm Michael Cox. Big show today — Ka Ying Rising's 1:06.11 in the Chief Executive's Cup. We're going to take Hall of Famer Shane Dye's instant reaction to that, and what makes this horse so special, and also what Shane wants to see out of Ka Ying Rising before he takes a shot at a second straight Everest in Sydney. Then Idol Horse chief journalist David Morgan joins me to break down the fallout from the weekend: Fast Network's failure in Japan, Satono Reve's retirement, and the Arc trials from the weekend. This episode of the News Desk podcast is brought to you by Keeneland's September Yearling Sale, running September 14 through to 26. More on that shortly. Let's get into it with Shane Dye. It's Monday, September 7.
[00:55] MICHAEL COX: Here we are on the Idol Horse News Desk podcast, joined by the one and only Shane Dye. Shane, we haven't talked about what we're going to talk about other than that it was Ka Ying Rising, but I wanted your fresh, instant reaction. I'm just going to say the number: 1:06.11, the time yesterday from Ka Ying Rising over 1,200 metres. Your reaction, right away?
[01:17] SHANE DYE: He was incredible. It wasn't a surprise to me. I was having a joke with a friend of mine before — I rang him, I said, "I've backed this at a dollar three. Just put your life on it, it cannot get beat." He said, "Are you kidding? Should I?" And I was having a laugh about it. I said, "Well, how's he going to get beat? He can't get beat. He'll just win by five lengths. He'll just go to the front and win." And Zac was never going to get into trouble on him. I didn't back him, of course, but anything you put on, it's just a bonus.
He was awesome. Zac cut him loose. He couldn't have gone much faster than that. It's the real first time I've seen him, when he's been in control of a race, that he's cut him loose. And the time suggested that. He was always going to break 1:07 at some stage — maybe more than that — because he was running 1:07.11, 1:07.15 pretty comfortably, times like that. So he was always going to go under 1:07, and he finally did it yesterday.
[02:22] MICHAEL COX: So that little bit more of an urging from Purton. Zac has said that came from a place where he didn't want to see the horse go to Australia perhaps a little underdone. That last time, he felt the horse went into quarantine ahead of the Everest and went on a holiday — were his words.
[02:42] SHANE DYE: There's two ways to look at this. I'm going to give you the good and the bad. Sometimes when you cut a horse loose — a very, very good horse, cut them loose first-up — it overtaxes them, and they don't recover as quickly as you think they can. Now, only Zac or David know that, but I've seen many a good horse have too hard a run first-up. And believe you me, he had a hard run yesterday running that time. That's the downside.
Zac and David know him better than anyone. And last year, Zac always said he didn't do enough on him first-up. So maybe giving him that hard run first-up can only benefit him, because he was definitely not at his best in Australia. Now, I've always said his action wasn't the same. He wasn't free. I think he had a problem with his action, in front somewhere, because he just didn't stride the same in the trial and the trackwork I saw him in, and in the Everest. I rated him about four lengths below his best — three to four lengths below his best. And I think most people would. He wins by three lengths. He's a machine.
So why is he a machine? Horses, when they race on pace, it's very hard when they're going fast to quicken. You can quicken like a Winx when you're coming from back and things like that, when you're having an easy run doing nothing. You can always run fast sectionals. But when you're actually racing on pace and you're doing work like he does, it's near impossible to quicken. He's one of the very few horses in the history of racing that can run sectionals like he does off fast-run races. And if you listen to Zac, he's always said the faster they go, the better it is for him, because he just quickens off that pace. And that's his bonus. He's a champion, you know. He's unbelievable.
[05:00] MICHAEL COX: Was that the best you've seen him go yesterday, when you take everything into account? And let's not forget as well — I think it hasn't been mentioned much — he carried 135 pounds and ran that time. Is that the best you've seen him go?
[05:13] SHANE DYE: Well, it's one of his best wins, there's no doubt about that. It's funny, his worst two wins were the Everest and the International two years ago. He didn't turn up — even though he won — and this is no disrespect to him, but it wasn't the Ka Ying Rising I know, or I've seen. And I think you would say that also, being a realist.
Look, he's just on another level, and I've been saying it for many a time. I think I was one of the first, if not the first, to say he was better than Black Caviar, two, three years ago when he first came along. And I've been proven right, because he is. And that's no disrespect in the world to Black Caviar. She was a machine — what did she win, 26 from 26? Which is unheard of. This horse, I think he's different, you know. He's special. He's very unique. He's that good.
[06:15] MICHAEL COX: What do you want to see from him? Obviously the expectation now, I think, is going to be even greater than it was — the scrutiny around him, as it was last year when he headed into the Everest for the first time. Now everybody knows the name. The streak has grown, the reputation has grown. He certainly has even maybe increased his fame from that big margin, seven and three-quarter lengths yesterday, and that slick time. He now goes in, same preparation as last time, big barrier trial at Randwick with all of the press there. What do you want to see in the quarantine at Canterbury, and what do you want to see in that barrier trial in the lead-up to the Everest?
[06:51] SHANE DYE: Well, I think they've already changed things with him. He didn't have as hard a run last season as this season, so that's one thing, and that's a big thing. Zac cut him loose because he thought he was underdone last year. His body weight's different.
I think the biggest thing with Ka Ying Rising this year is actually that Australians respect him now. A year ago they didn't. They used to say to me, "You're talking shit," or whatever, you know — "he's better than Black Caviar?" But now, no one says that. They all love him. They all respect him. He's got a huge following in Australia, I think, now. And if you're listening to the internet and everyone's opinion, they're just in awe of him. Whereas we were in Hong Kong — we were in awe of him probably what, 18 months ago, two years ago? Australia's in awe of him now.
I just want to see him trial well, because last year he didn't trial any good. That's all that matters to me. Whether he will or not, who knows? It's never easy travelling, and you've only got to look at the horses that have gone overseas to race. Have a look at Black Caviar — she won, in England of course, but she wasn't at her best there. You've got to have a look at Romantic Warrior when he went for the Cox Plate. Yeah, he won the Cox Plate, but he wasn't at his best. And you look at Ka Ying Rising last year, of course — he wasn't at his best. So I just want to see him trial well. If he trials well, you know he's there and he's at his best. It's as simple as that.
I heard someone on the radio or the internet a while ago — and you probably know — they said he can't sit three-wide and hook up in an Everest. "He might be good, but no horse can sit three-wide in an Everest and win." He could sit four-wide in an Everest, but he never would, because if he's deep, Zac can lead. If he wants to lead, he'll lead. Now, if they're going too quick, he'll take a sit. He'll never be four-wide or three-wide in an Everest, you know? And it doesn't matter if he's three-deep — he's too good for them.
[09:17] SHANE DYE: Now, the other one, Tempted — she's outstanding. And she did run him to second and was running on really well last year. But she doesn't get that big weight advantage now. I know she's a year older. She had a huge weight advantage last year because she was a three-year-old filly. Now she's four, and it closes up a lot, that weight advantage. Has she improved? Yes, she has improved. Has Ka Ying Rising improved? Well, I know he can't go worse than he did last year, because he went terrible last year — for him. So he's not going to go backwards. So she needs to make up a lot of ground to be in contention with him, Tempted. And she's the only one that could get, you know, within two lengths of him, probably.
[09:57] MICHAEL COX: There's another horse there in Australia at the moment — the Golden Slipper winner Guest House, who was first-up in the San Domenico. Big colt. I mean, the only thing I would say about Guest House is that he's a three-year-old colt, he does get some weight advantage, and he also comes into the race with upside. When you look at factors, or other horses that could possibly get close, challenge — is the fact that we haven't seen the bottom of this horse, that there's at least potential there with Guest House, make you think, well, he's the one to watch?
[10:36] SHANE DYE: Well, that's the other one to watch, and I forgot all about him. He was impressive the other day, he was impressive in the Golden Slipper. He's come back really well. He quickens. He's definitely going to be there somewhere, there's no doubt. And he looks a really nice horse.
He's also got Zac Lloyd riding for him, and I think Zac's gone to a new level. I think he's a superstar at present. He's really improved a lot. Zac used to make a lot of mistakes in races, even though he was a very good jockey. He seems to have worked out that patience is the key to riding in big races, and in races he seems to have worked out saving ground is a big thing. And he's gone to a new level. I've been very impressed with him the last six months, Zac. And well, James [McDonald] and him are the best two riders in Australia by a long way. It's not even close, the next two, at present.
[11:32] MICHAEL COX: Great. Thanks for joining us, Shane. And we'll look forward to your insights during the season in Idol Thoughts, your column on idolhorse.com. Thanks, Shane.
[11:42] SHANE DYE: Thank you.
[11:50] MICHAEL COX: That was Shane Dye on Ka Ying Rising, and a reminder you get more of Shane every week in Idol Thoughts, his column exclusively on idolhorse.com.
Now a word from our sponsor for this episode. The Keeneland September Yearling Sale runs Monday, September 14 through Saturday, September 26. It's a global marketplace for thoroughbred yearlings, and it stands apart from every other auction in the world for a few reasons: the sheer mass of quality yearlings at every level of the market, the largest and most diverse buying bench anywhere in the sport, and a track record of sales graduates going on to succeed at the very highest level of racing worldwide. If you're in the market — or just love watching where the next generation of champions comes from — September at Keeneland is where the sport goes to shop. Full details at keeneland.com.
Next up, David Morgan for the rest of the week's racing news.
Welcome back to the News Desk podcast. I'm Michael Cox, joined by Idol Horse chief journalist David Morgan. David, we've just spoken to Shane Dye, but since we spoke there's been an update. The Hong Kong Jockey Club released their re-handicaps after yesterday's dominant performance by Ka Ying Rising — now domestically rated the highest-rated horse in Hong Kong racing history, up to 145. Your reaction?
[13:19] DAVID MORGAN: Yeah, makes sense to me. You've reminded me of a story of a guy I knew many years ago here in England. We were sitting in a pub after the Grand National, and he'd worked in Dubai way, way back in the day. He had a handicapper from India, and he put a horse up to 145, and I remember him saying to me, "You can never put a horse up to 145." And here we have it — he's in Hong Kong, of course.
But look, the way he won that race was so impressive, as we've seen. He was 142 at the end of the season going into this. And he's 1.39 seconds faster now than Sacred Kingdom's fastest-ever time, which is incredible to think. And the way he beat those rivals at the weekend was so impressive. With that weight he was carrying, I don't see how he didn't go up. I know Timeform have kept him on the same mark — he remains, I think, 137 on Timeform. And that's got some comments on their social media saying, "How on earth does this work when he's just done what he's done?"
[14:18] MICHAEL COX: So there's next — this week, the World's Best Racehorse Rankings interim figures come out for the period up to and including September 6, which includes Sunday's race at Sha Tin. So that figure will be in there. Greg Carpenter, the head handicapper at the Hong Kong Jockey Club — or head of racing product, as he's known now — he's come up with the 145, and his team have come up with the 145 here. Now, all of the handicappers around the world will put their figures in for Ka Ying Rising's rating. With that weight and that time, and particularly the margin — that's something you don't see in a 1,200-metre race very often, seven and three-quarter lengths — he would have had the callipers out, the measurement devices, the magnifying glass, really examining how you could get this rating up, because it has been a difficult thing to get sprinters rated high up against those middle-distance horses that can put on those big margins. What do you expect on Thursday? He was 131, equal-highest rated in the world with Ombudsman. What number do you expect to see next to his name in the World's Best Racehorse Rankings on Thursday?
[15:32] DAVID MORGAN: To be honest, with the history of the rankings, I don't have an expectation, because I just don't quite know how they're going to read it. Do they make a rod for their own back? But I think — and look, they'll take into account the fact that the track was riding fast as well, of course, with the times. But looking at the way he's beaten those horses, I'm looking at it thinking, are we pushing up towards that 134? You know, I personally believe he's a 135 horse anyway. He's an incredible horse. So I'd be interested to see what the handicappers say. To me, he's one of the all-time greats, and he deserves a rating that reflects that.
[16:15] MICHAEL COX: Some other news from the weekend. Fast Network travelled to Japan, disappointing in the Centaur Stakes, beat only one horse home, 15th of 16. But news from trainer Dennis Yip — perhaps an excuse there.
[16:31] DAVID MORGAN: Yeah, Dennis has reported that the horse suffered from the throat issue which he's struggled with before. So if you go back to May of last year, he'd had what they call an epiglottic entrapment, and that led to him having throat surgery in May 2025. He then seemed to come out of that, and it seemed to have done the job, and he raced really well through the season. But Dennis is saying that that issue has arisen again, so he'll have the vet check him out and see where he's at. But it looks like — at this stage, I don't know if it's been confirmed — but it looks like at this stage the Sprinters Stakes, which was going to be the follow-up, is very much in doubt at this point.
[17:08] MICHAEL COX: While we're on the topic of Japanese sprinters — Satono Reve retired, David. An illustrious career. Japanese sprinters not known as the strongest of their divisions, but Satono Reve right up there. Where does he rank for you in the last 30 years of Japanese sprinters?
[17:28] DAVID MORGAN: Well, when you look at it, you've got, I would say, four horses to look at. Lord Kanaloa is the standout. He was incredible. The things he did in Hong Kong especially — just sensational things that he did on the track. And if you put him as the number one, then you're looking at, for me, three other horses to consider.
You've got Agnes World, who of course travelled back in — what was it, the year 2000? You're going back a quarter of a century to Agnes World, when he went to England and he went to France, and he won the Prix de l'Abbaye and he won the July Cup. And really was one of those horses that was starting to put Japan on the map. So you've got to consider him. He had a record at home where he didn't win a Group One, if I remember rightly, in Japan, but he did have a decent record.
And then you've got Danon Smash, who won a Takamatsunomiya Kinen and won a Hong Kong Sprint. But to me, I think Satono Reve is the horse that probably sits number two now, given what he did. Those two Takamatsunomiya Kinens — you can forgive him his runs at Nakayama in the Sprinters Stakes, he never liked Nakayama. And then to go overseas and put that body of work together in defeat, where, if you take Ka Ying Rising out of the equation, he's won two Chairman's Sprint Prizes. He's been beaten a hair's breadth in two Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. And even his July Cup run, third, was good. So the body of his work, I think, puts him, in my opinion, a clear second to Lord Kanaloa in that pantheon of Japanese sprinters of the last 30 years.
[18:54] MICHAEL COX: And just out of the Centaur Stakes, the Group Two lead-up that we saw Fast Network fail in — Flicker Jab, the winner, really on the way up. He's won six of his last eight. I mean, someone's always got to be the best sprinter in Japan, but your hopes for him in the future?
[19:17] DAVID MORGAN: Well, he's an exciting horse. He's what, seven from 12 now? He's won six from his last seven. And he was racing on the dirt earlier in his career — he had a couple of runs on dirt, I think he won a maiden on dirt — and then he switched to the turf and really kicked on and matured a bit. And as a four-year-old, you're looking at him as a horse coming into that prime of his career over the next maybe 12 months or more. He's very exciting. He's the kind of horse that you look at and think, well, this is quite timely: if Satono Reve's on the way out, maybe this is the horse that comes through and takes that mantle, and maybe even takes it up another notch. So he's a very exciting horse. He's still got to step into Group One and show that he's a Group One horse, but the way he won that race, there was a lot to like about it, and I expect to see much more from him in the future.
[20:03] MICHAEL COX: Lots on the idolhorse.com website — check it out. A lot going on in the world of racing right now, busy time of the year. Arc trials: did we see the Arc winner on Sunday?
[20:18] DAVID MORGAN: I think we did. I was really, really impressed with Daryz. And look, these Arc trials — we've been talking about ratings — you're never going to get a big rating in an Arc trial. They go slow and then kind of sprint. But he showed again, he looks big and strong. Very impressive in winning that race at the weekend.
The three-year-olds — I'm not too impressed with the three-year-olds overall. Graffard had Daryz, of course, and then in the Prix Niel he had Varandir, who's won. But I think, unless Varandir is going to take another step forward going into the Arc — which he might do, he's a more late-maturing three-year-old — I think Daryz was really impressive. Obviously Kalpana, Andrew Balding's mare, is a real strong contender to Daryz. But for me, he's just got that quality. I saw him back in May in the flesh, when I was at Longchamp for what was the Prix d'Ispahan and the Prix Aga Khan, and he's just such an impressive individual. So I think we did see the Arc winner there.
[21:15] MICHAEL COX: Just getting warmed up for the real big races coming up in Europe. Thanks for joining us, David, and we'll see you next week on the News Desk podcast.
[21:31] MICHAEL COX: And that was the News Desk podcast for this week. Big thanks to Shane Dye and David Morgan for their time. And don't forget, you can read more from Shane every week in his Idol Thoughts column, only at idolhorse.com. And of course, David Morgan's coverage of everything you heard today and more is up on the site as well. This episode was brought to you by Keeneland's September Yearling Sale, September 14 to 26, the world's most important thoroughbred sale. Check them out at keeneland.com. I'm Michael Cox. This has been the Idol Horse News Desk podcast. See you next week.
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