David Hayes delivered a frightening warning to all of the world’s sprinters as he looked forward to “another couple of seasons” of Ka Ying Rising dominance after his spine-tingling success in the Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.

There was an air of inevitability about the world’s best sprinter winning his 18th consecutive race – knocking Silent Witness off his perch in the process – and he delivered in perhaps his most devastating performance.

Cannoned out of stall three by Zac Purton, Ka Ying Rising took the trail behind Copartner Prance for the early part of the race before being let loose as they levelled for home, and the response was immediate.

Hayes’ five-year-old burst away from his rivals in a matter of strides when given his head and, as is usually the case, the Group One prize developed into a match race between Ka Ying Rising and the clock.

Unlike other races, where Purton has given him an easy time in the closing stages, he let Ka Ying Rising show Sha Tin what he is really capable of and the pair slammed the track record by 0.56 seconds.

Helios Express, Lucky Sweynesse and Galaxy Patch, all group winners in their own right, were made to look like statues and they will not be having any respite any time soon with Hayes delivering an ominous message post-race.

“If we can place him conservatively, we hope to have him for another couple of seasons; that’s really exciting,” said Hayes.

“It’s a huge relief. I didn’t think the team could have had him better for today and I was confident that if the track was riding fast, he could break the [track] record. I didn’t want Zac sitting up in the last 100m, I said to him ‘let him run through the post and we’ll see how strong he is at 1,400m’. He’s just a star.

“He jumped so well and cruised through the bend beautifully – at the 300m I could really enjoy it; I could tell he had the race in command. Zac went for him a bit more than he normally does and rode to instructions, which was good!”

A winner on debut before a pair of narrow defeats to Wunderbar, a lot of water has gone under the bridge in his next 18 runs, including eight Group One wins.

He has scaled the heights of Australia’s Group One The Everest – the world’s richest turf race – and was named Timeform’s Horse of the Year for 2025 too.

That recognition means a lot to Hayes, who was hoping the track record coming down would finally make the world’s handicappers stand up and take notice.

“I think we’ll have him much better than today [next season]. He saddled up as good as I’ve ever seen him saddle up. He’s more composed than ever, he’s changing legs and you can’t ask for much more than he’s doing,” said Hayes.

“He’s breaking track records and his last three runs, he’d have broken the track record if Zac had let him go. I just thought for his worldwide ratings, I wanted Zac to let him go today and hopefully he can keep climbing up that incredible ladder that he’s going up.

“When you’ve got a horse as good as him, he’s the one everyone will be comparing the next big horse to.”

It was a fifth win in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup for Purton, who has ridden many of the best horses Hong Kong has had to offer.

Much like Hayes, he is clearly starting to run out of superlatives for Ka Ying Rising, though even he was left shell-shocked by what he was a part of on Sunday.

“I think he’s reached his level and it’s just a matter of managing him now and trying to preserve that for as long as we can,” Purton said. “He’s the horse of a lifetime. I just shake my head every time with the performances he puts up and the ease with which he does.

“I’ve just got to pinch myself, I’m so lucky. He’s just different – he’s in a league of his own. They’re very good horses that he’s racing against, and he just does it like he’s having a barrier trial and let’s hope he can stay in this form for another 12 or 18 months.

“I had one instruction when I went out there and [Hayes] said ‘break the track record’.

“To be etched in history now forever is part of my legacy, part of David’s and a part of Ka Ying Rising and hopefully he can continue on doing what he’s doing. We’re all enjoying being associated with him and I think everyone is enjoying watching him being successful as well.”

The win was part of a five-timer on a day for an almost indomitable Purton, who also secured wins aboard debutant Almighty Lightning, Cool Blue, Aerovolanic and Cool Boy.