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Equinties - ka ying rising
BGP Capital
December 15, 2025
Gm Equinauts
We’ll eat our shoe if KA YING RISES races at Royal Ascot. They don’t want what we’ve got - shocking prize money.
And you know what we’re going to say next…
There is only one reason we’re in this horribly sorry financial state - the corporate betting giants who bleed the sport dry.
Let’s dive in!
HEADLINE ROUNDUP
THRILLER FROM MINELLA
Having already reviewed the action at Cheltenham on Friday (check out Saturday’s newsletter for that), it’s only right that we take a look at Saturday’s racing from Prestbury Park.
While there was probably a little bit less to talk about, there were still races that had a direct influence on the Cheltenham Festival. Case and point, the opening Triumph Hurdle Trial won by MINELLA STUDY.
Year after year, we can get swept up in the hype of a Triumph Hurdle Trial winner, and by the time they get to Cheltenham in March, they are beaten by whatever Willie Mullins has to offer. It’s a yearly tradition.
EAST INDIA DOCK was last year, BURDETT ROAD the year before (though he didn’t actually make it to the Triumph), and even PIED PIPER for Gordon Elliott fell into that category in 2022.
So, do we have a similar case with MINELLA STUDY? Yes and no. The yes part of that answer is that he has looked good in two juvenile hurdles so far this season, but what has he beaten? TRALEE GIRL (third to him at Wetherby) has been beaten in a Listed race at Newbury since, but THE BELLHOP (fourth at Wetherby) has won a Fontwell race since.
What he’s beaten so far is not good enough to win a Triumph, though there is a caveat. He pulled well-clear of the third at Wetherby, and at Cheltenham, he could hardly have done it any easier. Furthermore, ONE HORSE TOWN is a Triumph Trial winner himself, and it seems as if Faye Bramley expects plenty of WINSTON JUNIOR this season:
As for the “no” part of the answer, he’s 25/1 for the Triumph. Therefore, he really can’t be classed as a hype horse in the division. We’re almost certain that if he was trained in Lambourn or by Paul Nicholls, he’d be at least 10/1, if not somewhere in the region of 8s. This may be a lazy thing to say, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
In isolation, there was plenty to like about what he did on Saturday. He handled Cheltenham as well as any other track, he made no mistakes (improvement on his Wetherby effort), he lengthened away from the last, and he has a lovely conformation for the type of horse that he is now. He’s well-built without being huge, and he’s nicely proportioned.
The one negative is that on the road to Cheltenham, he probably won’t face a real good one as he’s heading to Musselburgh at the end of January. That makes it hard to judge just how good he is, and it’s almost as if we are judging him based on comments from connections and our eye.
Still, he a lovely horse, and he’s one that can let connections dream.
SKELTON SATURDAYS
It’s becoming a weekly thing in the UK - Dan Skelton sends a nice horse to track, they win a big race, and every one goes home.
This Saturday, it was a similar state of affairs, though that didn’t stop him from sending KATEIRA to Doncaster, only for her to drift wildly in the betting, never put in the race and not be cited.
At Prestbury Park, they had a good day. They may have failed to win the December Gold Cup with HOE JOLY SMOKE, but CARLENRIG just got up in the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle to deny THEY CALL ME HUGO and CONMAN JOHN.
We imagine all three will be heading down the route of the spud race come March, as Olly Murphy alluded to it post-race, and while CONMAN JOHN did lose a little bit in defeat, he is within his rights to bounce back again this season (and we think it might turn out good form).
Just on CARLENRIG, there’s a chance he may not get the plaudits he deserves. He’s raced just twice under rules, and he is a great big beast. He was tenderly handled on seasonal reappearance, and he did well to get within three lengths of ROCKING MAN that day. Connections of ROCKING MAN think a lot of him, so being beaten by him is no problem.
He’s now put in an improved performance of a stone to win a Grade 2, and he can only improve from here considering his age (five) and stature. He will be some chaser next season, and while the Bartlett takes a certain type to win, Skelton is hopeful he has the right horse for the job. He said: "I'll try to win the spud cup now. I'd love a bronze potato.
"I think he's got the right constitution and mentality for that race. When he won at Hexham it was almost unraceable but he ploughed on. We won't be too hard on him before it."
Looking ahead, Skelton did also mention that he was very disappointed by BIG CADILLAC in the sense that he thought he’d run a lot better than he did. He’s had two runs now, and because he’s been beaten both times, one would hope he could be given a nice handicap mark for the rest of the season.
Into the tracker he goes:
Elsewhere, Skelton handed NURSE SUSAN a long-term aim, and the race she will be going for at Cheltenham is the Coral Cup.
Has Skelton ever won the Coral Cup in Colm Donlon’s colours? Asking for a friend.
Her chance will depend on what the handicapper does to her tomorrow. She was once thought of as a Mares’ Hurdle contender, after all, but she’s not the easiest to train, and one gets the impression that Saturday may have been ‘her day’.
THEATRE AT SHA TIN
Zac Purton described the Everest champ, KA YING RISING, as being ‘in a league of his own’ as he eased the star down to coast home in Sha Tin’s Hong Kong sprint. It was a performance most of us would have caught up on through socials and watching on a small 6” screen perhaps doesn’t do the wonder horse any justice. It’s easy to take something like that for granted as we scroll down through a timeline. But mark our words, it was special.
The epic victory see’s him now at 16 career victories in a row which is just one behind SILENT WITNESS and firmly cements him as THE best sprinter Hong Kong, arguably the world, has ever seen.
He picked up a mind-blowing $1.6m for his easy day out. It’s almost laughable to expect him to test his mettle at Royal Ascot when you look at our prize money versus the lottery pots he can continue to easily win on his door step.
We’ve said time and time again, the only reason British racing can’t keep up with the growing racing super powers of Honk Kong, Japan, Australia et al is because unlike them, our financial situation was surrendered long ago to the mercy of the corporate giants who continue to suck the life out of racing. It’s a sorry story which, at this point almost looks irreversible.
If British racing wants to put itself back on the map where the best horses in the world race for the biggest prizes in racing, we need a racing-centric betting product which puts all the turnover back into the sport.
Honestly, f*ck the betting giants.
WEEKEND EYE-CATCHERS
GO WEST – SATURDAY 12.25 DONCASTER
GO WEST was a bit unlucky not to win at Donny on Saturday. He did a lot right in the 2m3f limited novices’ handicap chase, but JORDANS CROSS, an unexposed improver for Anthony Honeyball, just got there in time to win by a nose. He’s only raced six times under rules, and he should have probably won off 130 on Saturday. He can continue to go through the ranks, and he is a three-mile PtP winner, so a step up in trip might just see further improvement.
Keep an eye out for this lad. He could have a few nice handicaps in him.
SIOG GEAL – SATURDAY 15.35 CHELTENHAM
Speaking of NURSE SUSAN, she was fairly on top at the line, but a better ride from Johnny Burke on SIOG GEAL might have given her something to think about.
The six-year-old was strong in the market before the off (notable), and she cruised around the home turn. Burke ultimately produced her to the front too soon, which allowed her to be a sitting duck for NURSE SUSAN to capitalise on.
The handicapper will probably give her a couple of pounds for the run, but she should be winning in handicaps, even with a mark of roughly 125.
RISK ON
There are some exciting horses making their debut’s this week, keep reading this newsletter.
Today we’re going to play two half bets:
15.00 DULHALLOW TOMMY
On chase form can carry this lot and he comes alive at Christmas time. Does have to leave his recent form behind though so half bet at 9/4.
17.30 BOSH SOLDIER
This girl and BLINDFOLD GAMES were fancied for Boughey today (we missed Lingfield) so will go with BOSH SOLDIER who is bred to be better than her mark. We don’t think we’re ever seen such a low rating so you have to have faith that she is better than she is! 12/1 now, watch out for the potential squeeze. Half bet ew.
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