Zac Purton and many others thought Silent Witness’ record would never be matched but at Sha Tin on Sunday, superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising did just that with a 17th straight victory after dominating the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m).

Extending his phenomenal streak to match the great Silent Witness’ feat from 21 years ago, Ka Ying Rising was eased down by Purton when blitzing his rivals by a length and a quarter.

“What can I say. We’ve said it all with the horse,” the champion jockey said.

“I never thought I would see [Silent Witness’ record matched], to be honest. It’s very, very rare what Silent Witness did and what Ka Ying has been able to do so far – and let’s hope he can keep going on with it.

“Fortunately for us who are involved with the horse, he’s equalled him and can hopefully put his own benchmark.”

Sent out at his now regular minimum price of $1.05, Ka Ying Rising sat second with Purton happy to track pacesetter Beauty Waves before taking control 400m out.

The David Hayes-trained superstar unleashed his blistering turn of foot to quickly put the result beyond doubt, allowing Purton to go easy on him late as Helios Express ran on for a clear second.

He stopped the clock in 1:07.66 – a slick time given he was geared down by Purton – in his seventh Group One success and 18th triumph from 20 career starts.

“The winning margin probably wasn’t his greatest but I think it was probably the most Zac’s ever eased him down, so he had a very easy last 200m and he dominated as the market suggested he would. It’s just nice to see him do it,” said Hayes.

“I was here when Silent Witness was putting that string together and I clearly remember David Raphael, the caller, saying ‘watch this, you’ll never see this again’.”

Hugh Bowman, the rider of Helios Express, was also in awe of the world’s best sprinter.

“The slower pace didn’t suit, but neither does the fast pace when you’re chasing that horse,” Bowman said.

Fast Network, who is entered for the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) at Meydan in March, backed up his Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) third with another third placing behind Ka Ying Rising on Sunday.

Ka Ying Rising will follow the same path as last year, stepping up to 1,400m in the Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup – the second leg of Hong Kong’s Speed Series – on February 22, when he bids to break Silent Witness’ record.

“Last year he worked a bit and won it, but I think he’s a stronger, better horse this year and I think he will handle the 1,400 beautifully. I’m really excited for the next race,” Hayes said.

“I think it’s another dimension to him and last year he nearly broke the course record at 1,400. I think if the conditions are right, he can go very close again.

“He’s stronger and he’s mentally calmer – you never say invincible, but very close to it.”

Ka Ying Rising was the second leg of three consecutive winners on Sunday for Hayes, who also struck with impressive three-year-old Turin Champions and Positive Smile.

Turin Champions scored a barnstorming victory in the first section of the Class Four Sound Print Handicap (1,400m), charging from near last under Hugh Bowman to gun down Gallant Epoch by half a length.

“Next season, I think he could be in the Classic Series; he’s a nice young horse,” Hayes said.

Positive Smile capped Hayes’ three-timer with a similar success, unleashing a powerful finishing burst from last under Keith Yeung Ming-lun to make it back-to-back wins in the second section of the Class Four Waikuku Handicap (1,400m).

Purton also fired in a treble after winning on Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Lucky Eight and the Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained Happy Index.