Ninja's prospects enhanced by rain in The Everest

The usual gloom associated with a rainy week preceding a major race day has, surprisingly, become a source of optimism for connections of Ka Ying Rising's rivals in The Everest.

While the undisputed top horse remains a strong $1.50 favourite for Saturday's $20 million sprint, uncertainties about his wet-track capabilities have slightly eroded his seemingly unbeatable status.

This shift provides individuals like jockey Tommy Berry, whose mount Ninja has secured two wins and a placing from three outings on damp surfaces, with a valid reason to believe the race isn't solely for second place behind the Hong Kong contender.

"The beauty of the rain being around is it gives everyone a chance to dare to dream a little bit," Berry stated.

"If the track was firm, it would probably be a non-event with what he's done in the past, but he didn't trial his best on soft going, and he didn't look overly comfortably."

Berry's experience is key. He guided Ninja in that 1000m Randwick trial, where the four-year-old advanced to meet Ka Ying Rising, eventually passing him to claim the heat on a soft 7-rated track.

Though the competitive nature of barrier trials differs from race day intensity, Berry perceived Ka Ying Rising as looking susceptible under the conditions, which are quite foreign to the gelding, given that 23 of his 24 starts have occurred on dry tracks.

"I noticed he wasn't overly comfortable in it," Berry commented.

"He just wasn't able to open the field up in that trial, which is what 'Ka Ying's' best efforts are all about.

"I'm under no illusion. Wet track, dry track, he's going to be extremely hard to beat. It just allows us to dare to dream a bit more that we've got a shot at finishing right up there with him."

Ninja was the first horse chosen for The Everest and will represent the slot secured by John Camilleri's Fairway Thoroughbreds, a part-owner of the gelding.

Berry stresses the importance of Ninja achieving a good start from barrier three, and he finds encouragement in the gelding's past victory over 1400m at Group level. Saturday's edition of The Everest (1200m) is anticipated to feature a brisk pace, driven by the speed of filly Blue Door and Ka Ying Rising.

"With Blue Door and Ka Ying, the way they like to run their races, if it's a soft track it's going to make it a test," Berry observed.

"If you go through every one of my bloke's replays, he's never had a horse come from behind him and go past him. He's very competitive. He's a line chaser, and if anything comes for him, he lifts."

This will be Ninja's seventh appearance in The Everest for Berry, whose previous best performances include a second with Masked Crusader in 2021 and a third with Osborne Bulls in 2018. Check out the betting markets for the race to get involved.