Ka Ying Rising edges closer to Hong Kong record after Jockey Club Sprint romp
Ka Ying Rising edges closer to Hong Kong record after Jockey Club Sprint romp
Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) maintained a relentless pursuit of racing history and stretched his unbeaten sequence to 15 races with a devastating display of power and speed to land the Jockey Club Sprint (Gr 2, 1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Unvanquished since January last year, Ka Ying Rising obliterated his nine rivals in clocking the second-fastest time in history over 1200 metres at Sha Tin – 1m 07.33s, marginally outside his own track record of 1m 07.20s – despite being eased down over the last 100 metres by Zac Purton.
Conceding five pounds to the rest of the field, the world’s highest-rated sprinter jumped cleanly to lead from barrier ten before settling in second place behind Beauty Waves (Starspangledbanner) and, such was his superiority, Purton said the tempo was still not fast enough – despite a blistering sectional of 21.93s from the 800 metres to the 400 metres.
Purton quickly put the issue beyond doubt on straightening as Ka Ying Rising surged clear inside the last 200 metres before being allowed to saunter to the line. The winning margin of two-and-three-quarter lengths flattered runner-up Fast Network (Wrote) with Helios Express (Toronado) third, a further length-and-three-quarters away.
Ka Ying Rising’s 15th consecutive win leaves him third overall for the most wins in a row by a Hong Kong, China-trained horse behind Silent Witness (El Moxie) (17) and Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro) (16).
With the Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) at Sha Tin on December 14 seemingly at his mercy, the gelding continues to impress Purton with his maturity, having successfully travelled back to Sha Tin after landing The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) in Sydney on October 18.
“He just looks better all the time. He’s mentally getting better. It’s hard to say that he’s improving or that he’s going to get better, but he’s certainly enjoying what he’s doing and handling it really well,” Purton said.
“It was good to see him win like that today without having to go to the bottom of him, so it’s a nice confidence-boosting win as he comes back. I’ve never seen him look so good. We were hoping he was going to do that, and it’s good for him to back up what we were thinking.
“Mid-race, Beauty Waves was probably just half a step too slow – I know we’ve run nearly a track record time – but he [Ka Ying Rising] was on his tippy toes behind him wanting to go quicker. That’s the beauty with this horse, the faster they go, the better he is.
“I got to the stage where I had to let him roll into it because otherwise it was going to be detrimental to him.”
Winning trainer David Hayes said: “To the eye, I thought it was probably one of his best wins. That was as easy as I’ve seen him do it – maybe in this race last year, but I thought it was probably better than this one last year when he [Purton] did the kiss cam.
“Zac agreed with me. He thought he gave him probably the best feel in the last 15 [races], so that’s a great sign. He just showed us that he’s right on song. He raced at the heaviest Hong Kong weight [1,158lb] he’s ever been today, which suggests he’s getting bigger, stronger, better.
“It’s just a dream come true to have a horse like this, and I really want to thank my team that travelled him overseas and didn’t miss a beat with him and brought him back in better condition than he left.
“He’ll be set for The Everest now again and, of course, we’ve got the big international race in three weeks which is his short-term grand final, so it’s all very exciting.”
The battle for the homegrown rider’s berth in the International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley on December 10 will be settled at next Wednesday’s Happy Valley meeting after Vincent Ho and Jerry Chau both struck at Sha Tin.
Ho leads Chau with 11 wins to ten after scoring on the Chris So-trained Mabubu (Zousain) in the Class 4 BOCHK Cross-Border Services Handicap (1200m), but Chau struck back with victory on Ricky Yiu’s promising Sky Joy (Hellbent) in the Class 3 BOC Credit Card Handicap (1200m).
Hugh Bowman edged to within one victory of Luke Ferraris in the tussle for the final IJC place after partnering Francis Lui’s Do Your Part (Coats Choice) to success in the Class 4 BOC Life Handicap (1400m). Bowman trails Ferraris 14-15 with one meeting left before the final selection.
Dylan Mo continued a productive association with Lui’s Winning Wing (Preferment) in the Class 2 BOCHK “Banking TrendyToo” Handicap (2000m) while Zac Purton teamed with Mark Newnham when Four-Year-Old Classic Series prospect Invincible Ibis (Hellbent) scored a soft victory in the Class 3 BOCHK Wealth Management Handicap (1400m)
James McDonald combined with John Size to notch his first win of his short-term stint when Fit For Beauty (Vanbrugh) landed the Class 4 BOCHK SME In One Handicap (1400m) before the gun jockey posted a Group 2 double on Galaxy Patch (Wandjina) and Romantic Warrior (Acclamation).
David Eustace and Lyle Hewitson closed the meeting in style as Riding Together (Proftibale) earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million (approx. AU$299,415) for winning the Class 3 BOCHK BOC Pay+ Handicap (1400m).