Ka Ying Rising breaks own track record again as great sprinter stars on FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin

No need for hindsight as ruthless Rising scales the heights again

Summer is starting to call as the crowd roll into Racecourse Station on FWD Champions Day.

Hardened punters clutch their racing papers as they jog to find their usual paddock spots, while stunningly attired racegoers sashay along the Sha Tin catwalk/concourse as chattering parties of Mainland visitors line up behind their flag-carrying tour guides.

All human life is here for one of Hong Kong racing’s flagship events, but you don’t need 20/20 vision to recognise brilliance when you see it, and the unstoppable KA YING RISING lives up to his billing and then some with his twentieth consecutive success in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize.

David Hayes’s gelding doesn’t turn a hair as his fan club find their voices in the paddock and the huge World Pool odds board that hangs above paints one of the strangest punting pictures in global racing history.

The jolly shows at money back - though the HKJC must pay out at the basement price of 1.05 – with multiple G1 winner Satono Reve second in at 89/1 and the bold Irish raider Comanche brave out with some high-class washing at 366/1.

It feels like there isn’t a soul on the grounds who thinks the world’s fastest horse isn’t going to extend a streak that began with a narrow success in a Class 3 handicap from a mark of just 69 in February 2024.

And those intrepid souls who have a hundred thousand dollars to win five – and believe me, there are plenty – never have a moment’s concern as he delivers another performance that blends elegance and ruthlessness in a way that comes along once in a generation.

Putaway point settles all arguments

Talk of records is inevitable when a superstar lowers previous bests at will and the anoraks on the local broadcast team – signing in, sir – spend the last seconds before flagfall wondering whether Ka Ying Rising can break Sha Tin’s historic 1200m track record for the seventh time in his career.

The quarter of a beat he misses at the start is soon recovered as stablemate Tomodachi Kokoroe and former Dundalk winner Beauty Waves roll forward and eagle-eyed caller Mark McNamara flags up the coup de grâce with 250m to run by saying “this is now the putaway point."

And for the panting pursuers, the end is mercifully swift again.

Japan’s best sprinter Satono Reve gallops on willingly and will have plenty to say at Royal Ascot if he tries to go one better than last year in the QEII Jubilee, but Ka Ying Rising is on a different plane, surging five lengths clear in the blink of an eye and passing the post to thunderous acclaim with Zac Purton gearing down through the last 50m.

Purton is a notoriously difficult judge to impress but seems in awe of the best horse he has ever ridden, shaking his head as he says: "Japan have sent their best sprinter, and he’s toyed with him again."

Meanwhile, a beaming Hayes stands tall in the lucky tan suit and blue tie that get an airing every time his champion runs and sums things up perfectly by adding: “In the Year of the Horse, he’s one of the all-time greats, now, I think.”

Mondo man raising the bar again

A risk of being a prisoner of the moment is clear at times like this, but how do you argue with a record like this gelding is putting together?

That streak of 20 now includes nine G1s – including a historic Everest success in Australia last autumn – and Black Caviar’s record of 25 in a row could be under threat by the early weeks of 2027.

The risk of anti-climax is clear when the star of the show goes on first, but Mark Newnham’s pocket battleship MY WISH refuses to be denied under Hugh Bowman in the Champions Mile.

Ageless globetrotter ROMANTIC WARRIOR – helped in no small part by Christophe Lemaire asking Japan Cup runner-up Masquerade Ball an impossible tactical question – looks as good as ever in landing a fourth QEII Cup for Danny Shum and James McDonald.

But the abiding memory of a sun-kissed Champions Day revolves around a dazzling Kiwi import who has made a fully paid up member of the Dayjur fan club – look him up, kids – think again.

Track and field fans will be familiar with the American pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who keeps breaking the world record by a centimetre then putting his cue (sorry, pole) in the rack to repeat the dose another day.

The style and substance of HK’s latest superstar have helped Ka Ying Rising raise the bar to giddy heights over the last two years now.

He’s the best sprinter I’ve seen in forty years pounding this strange beat – and we might not see a better one if we’re lucky enough to pound it for another forty.

Reports and reaction from FWD Champions Day

More from Sporting Life

• Free bets
• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.