Ka Ying Rising is one win away from a perfect season after coasting to victory in Sunday’s Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin.
Sent off the shortest price of his career at $1.05, Ka Ying Rising tracked leader California Spangle in the run before powering to his 11th win on the bounce and seventh success of the campaign.
“He runs those times with ease,” said trainer David Hayes after Ka Ying Rising stopped the clock at 1:08.18 – about a length inside standard but well short of his own track record of 1:07.2.
“He’s just got this group of horses covered and I knew he was in peak form.
“The way he looks and the way he’s behaving, he is improving his manners – clearly his ability has been there the whole time.
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— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 30, 2025
11 straight wins for world's best sprinter Ka Ying Rising as David Hayes' star is an emphatic G2 Sprint Cup winner at Sha Tin... @zpurton #LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/3FkxiZfium
“He’s developing into a more foolproof horse. Today he took the sit. He doesn’t have to lead – he’s all right with a sit and he’s all right leading, so he’s a beauty.”
Back in the saddle for the first time since fracturing his toe in a race fall on February 9, jockey Zac Purton let Ka Ying Rising go upon straightening before easing him to a three-length victory over Helios Express, who ran second to the sprint sensation for the fourth time running.
“It’s nice to come back and ride a horse like him. He’s a pleasure to do anything with, he’s really relaxed going to the gates and behind the gates now. He just does everything you want him to do,” said Purton, who finished the afternoon with a treble after also saluting aboard La Forza for Jamie Richards and Another World for Benno Yung Tin-pang.
“The leader today didn’t go as fast as I was hoping he would go. I travelled a bit stronger than I would have liked and with the extra weight on his back, I didn’t want to sit around and wait for the others, so I sent him for home early and he just let him do what he does.
Jockey Zav Purton, trainer David Hayes (third from right) and connections of Ka Ying Rising celebrate.
“He was always cruising and he didn’t give us a moment of worry and that’s the good thing about him.”
Ka Ying Rising will chase a fourth Group One win in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) on April 27, while he can also complete a sweep of the Hong Kong Speed Series after victories in the Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) and Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m).
“Even Zac’s starting to acknowledge the horse’s ability now. He took a while but he’s really starting to say that he’s quite special, which he really is,” said Hayes.
“This was a stepping-stone race, where he had to give five pounds, and the next one is set weights and it’s his grand final.
Ka Ying Rising surges clear of his Sprint Cup rivals.
“There’s a HK$5 million bonus for the [Speed Series] and, of course, it’s an international sprint.
“It’s what he’s been set for the whole year and if he achieves it, it’s the perfect season. Eight wins – not many horses have done that.
“He’ll have an easy trial 10 days out from the race. Whether we have it at Conghua or Sha Tin will be decided, but he will certainly go up to Conghua and enjoy the facilities. He just recovers between runs so well.”
Ka Ying Rising would draw level with Lucky Sweynesse and Beauty Generation on a record eight wins in a season should he snare the Chairman’s Sprint Prize, where he is likely to face a rematch with Japanese speedster Satono Reve after that galloper, who finished third in December’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m), took out Sunday’s Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) under Joao Moreira at Chukyo.
