‘A league of his own’
Purton praises Ka Ying Rising after utterly dominant Hong Kong Sprint romp
The world’s best sprinter and potentially best horse overall, Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress), extended his winning streak to a Hong Kong record-chasing 16 on Sunday when making every yard in the Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m).
Having landed the Sprint by a cosy half-length last year, David Hayes’s ultra-impressive sprinter has swept all before him again in 2025.
A total of four Group 1 wins heading into Sunday’s HK$28 million (approx. AU$5.4 million) Sprint were headed by October’s AU$20 million The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) at Randwick, in which Ka Ying Rising ran out an eased-down length and a quarter winner over Godolphin’s crack three-year-old Tempted (Street Boss).
Back on familiar Hong Kong shores, the five-year-old son of Shamexpress (O’Reilly) geared up for Sunday’s task with an easy two and three-quarter lengths success over Fast Network (Wrote) in the Jockey Club Sprint (Gr 2, 1200m) on November 23, and a similar story unfolded again this weekend.
Jumping from barrier one under regular rider Zac Purton, Ka Ying Rising was quickly out on the front end travelling strongly.
Pressed closely by Win Carnelian (Screen Hero) down the back straight, the long odds-on favourite quickly dispatched of that rival turning for home and, in the usual scintillating fashion that we have become accustomed to, quickened effortlessly clear of his toiling 12 rivals to put distance between himself and the field under a motionless Purton.
Cruising to victory inside the final 200 metres, Ka Ying Rising ran out a three and three-quarter lengths winner over the John Size-trained Raging Blizzard (Per Incanto), with Dennis Yip’s Fast Network again hitting the frame a further three-quarters of a length back in third.
“His last run showed us that it was on the cards today,” Purton said. “He drew the right gate, and when the barrier came out, they said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said he would win by further.
“He is just in a league of his own now. And not having to do that extra work into the first corner from a wide gate to try and get forward, probably helped him.”
Ka Ying Rising’s 16th consecutive win draws him level with Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro) for the most wins in a row by a Hong Kong-trained horse, now just one behind Silent Witness (El Moxie) on 17.
Hayes has long held the Kiwi-bred Ka Ying Rising as the best horse he has ever trained, and is hopeful there is still plenty more to come from the six-time Group 1 winner.
“We’re hoping he’s got another 20 races in him,” Hayes said. “On the eye, that was as spectacular a win as he’s done. The Royal Ascot form was in the race, there was great Japanese form in the race, from Dubai and the Breeders’ Cup. They’re probably the best sprinters around and he’s making them look ordinary.
“He was just superb today. The messages he was sending the week of the race suggested he’d do something like that. We are not running fast times today but he did – [running] a lot faster than the other races.
“He is a lot heavier and stronger now, so physically he is really improving and it is showing on the track.
“The great thing about him is that he doesn’t have to lead. Today Zac wanted to take all of the risk out of it so he could get off the fence and that is another string to his bow.
“Zac has been easing him down in his past couple of races. He probably ran about 20 lengths quicker than the Class 3 and the Class 4 [1200m], which he probably should.”
Hayes confirmed that his superstar would again be set for Hong Kong’s Speed Series, before reaffirming that he will head back for The Everest again in 2026.
“It will then be the big international sprint here and then he’ll be going to The Everest,” he said. “Let’s just hope he is sound and well and if he is in the form he was today, we’d love to take those Aussies on again.”