Ka Ying Rising extends Hong Kong record to 19 straight wins, breaks own track record in Sprint Cup

Ka Ying Rising continues to amaze, and it seems all there is left for the sprinter to do is break or extend his own records.

Hong Kong's all-conquering sprinter – currently ranked the best in the world – extended his own Hong Kong record to 19 consecutive wins and lowered his own 1200-meter mark in an awe-inspiring display in Monday's Group 2 Sprint Cup at Sha Tin.

Ka Ying Rising sat behind speedster Stellar Express through the first three-quarters of the race before jockey Zac Purton pulled clear and, with tailwind behind him up the straight, burst away from his outclassed rivals, taking 0.08 seconds from his previous track record of 1:07.20 to stop the clock at 1:07.12.

Helios Express was again second to the champion, 4-1/4 lengths back – the widest winning margin of Ka Ying Rising's career – with Raging Blizzard a further half-length away in third.

The David Hayes-trained five-year-old has not lost since January 21, 2024, a span of nearly two and a half years.

"He was exceptional again today," Hayes said. "When you look at the time and the ease he ran it – and the times they were running in the other races today – down the straight with a tailwind, sure, but around the bend they hadn't been that fast.

"They must have went pretty hard into the wind and then he popped out and took advantage of it. One of his easier wins, but when they are 30-to-1 on, they probably should win easily. But it is not easy to do."

Ka Ying Rising, sent off at odds of 1.05 – the minimum payout on the Jockey Club’s system – was conceding five pounds to his six rivals while carrying 128 pounds.

Despite the record time, Purton had eased the throttle before the line, with the winning margin and the clock both telling the story of a horse at the peak of his powers.

It was the third time Ka Ying Rising has broken the Sha Tin 1200-meter track record. He first lowered Sacred Kingdom's long-standing mark of 1:07.50 when clocking 1:07.43 in the 2024 Jockey Club Sprint before shaving it to 1:07.20 in the 2025 Centenary Sprint Cup.

Hayes said the performance only reinforced his belief that the best was still to come, particularly with a planned return to Australia for The Everest next season.

The trainer used Japan’s top-ranked sprinter Satono Reve – who will return to Hong Kong later this month to take on Ka King Rising for a fourth time – to underline the dominance of his horse.

"Satono Reve ran an amazing time in Japan the other day and won very easily, and he is the best in Japan and is proven in Europe," Hayes said. "The horses that have come here are no slouches, and he has really beaten them so well.

"I think he will be a better horse when he goes to The Everest next year.”

The idea that a horse considered by many experts to be the best sprinter of all time could improve might seem absurd, but Hayes explained it wasn’t simply a matter of Ka Ying Rising getting faster, but how easy the horse has become to manage.

“Just behind the gates, and everything he does, he is taking to it so well,” Hayes said. “Even when saddling up, he is a quieter horse. He is just really maturing."

Hayes said the 2025-26 season, in which he has won six races,  had been “a golden one” but predicted more to come – with the 2026 Everest, still six months away, already coming into focus. 

"The Everest will be different opposition – there are some very good young horses in Australia that we look forward to racing,” he said. “They can come here for the international races … we will just keep doing what we are doing because it is working so well. It is not stressing our horse, and we are hoping to have him for another couple of seasons, at least one more at the top.

"He is nearly two and a half years undefeated, so if he can get another one in, which is not easy to do – not many horses have been able to do that."

Ka Ying Rising's 19 consecutive victories include eight Group 1 triumphs – two Longines Hong Kong Sprints, two Centenary Sprint Cups, two Queen's Silver Jubilee Cups, The Everest in Australia and the Chairman's Sprint Prize. T

he streak has surpassed Silent Witness' Hong Kong record of 17, which had stood since 2005. The New Zealand-bred son of Shamexpress will next start in the Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize over 1200 meters on FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on April 26, where he will bid for a second straight victory in the final leg of the Hong Kong Speed Series and a 20th consecutive win.

Hayes said Purton's post-race assessment was simple: "His words were 'I think he is getting better’.”