Such is the dominance of Ka Ying Rising, that even though the world’s highest-rated sprinter came within a length of his own track record when he recorded his 15th consecutive win at Sha Tin yesterday, Zac Purton was still under the impression that the pace of the race “was probably just half a step too slow for” the superstar.
The David Hayes-trained sprinter lit up the Sha Tin turf in the manner that world racing fans have come to expect from Ka Ying Rising when he surged clear for another extraordinary wide-margin win in the Group 2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint over 1,200 meters.
He brushed aside the group of sprinters he has had at his mercy in Hong Kong and in doing so, confirmed that his monumental success in last month’s richest race on turf, the G1 The Everest, in Sydney, had not taken a toll on him.
“For him to come out and do that was great,” Purton said. “We were hoping he was going to and it’s good for him to back up what we were thinking.
“His demeanour at the track and the way he looks - I’ve never seen him look so good.”
Ka Ying Rising showed his customary early speed out of the gates to settle on the coattails of the leader, Beauty Waves, who took the field along around three lengths inside standard time for the first 800m.
But, fearing Beauty Waves hadn’t led the field quickly enough for his sprinting superstar, Purton moved alongside the leader 400m from home before easing clear of his rivals soon after.
“Mid race, Beauty Waves was probably just half a step too slow for me,” Purton said. “I know we’ve run nearly track record time, but he was on his tippy toes behind and wanting to go quicker.
“That’s the beauty with this horse, the faster they go the better he is, and I got to the stage where I was going to let him roll into it because it was going to be detrimental to him.”
Hayes has always been honest about the pressures that are associated with saddling a 1.05 favorite in Hong Kong’s biggest sprints, but the trainer said he was as calm as he’s ever been watching his stable star.
“To the eye, I thought it was probably one of his best wins,” Hayes said. “That was as easy as I’ve seen him do it.
“Today was the least nervous I've been - I was incredibly confident. I just thought, something had to go terribly wrong to lose. But the [Hong Kong Sprint] will be different - there's new horses coming in and new challenges.”
The Hong Kong Sprint will be Ka Ying Rising’s next port of call on December 14 when he tries to collect his 16th successive win - which would move him within one of Silent Witness’ Hong Kong record of 17 straight victories.
After yesterday’s race, Hayes reflected briefly on what it’s like to train Ka Ying Rising and thanked his team for their efforts in managing the horse meticulously during his travels Down Under.
“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,” he added. “They didn’t miss a beat with him and brought him back in better condition than he left.”
