Ka Ying Rising cemented his status as one of the greatest sprinters in horse racing history on Sunday, demolishing a quality field in the Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin to record a 20th consecutive victory and cap a second straight unbeaten season.
The David Hayes-trained superstar, partnered by Zac Purton, shaved 0.02 seconds off his own 1200-meter course record, stopping the clock at 1:07.10 while eased down to beat classy Japanese raider Satono Reve by four and a quarter lengths.
It was a performance that left even his rider shaking his head at how effortless it all was.
"It was pretty painless, the speed was nice and he was in a good rhythm," Purton said. "It was just a matter of him turning up and doing what he has done all season and he did that."
Purton stalked the early speed set by Ka Ying Rising's stablemate Tomodachi Kokoroe and then Beauty Waves before making his move turning into the home straight. Satono Reve and Joao Moreira loomed as a threat briefly but were swatted aside as the champion kicked clear, the Japanese sprinter left languishing in Ka Ying Rising's wake for the fourth time.
"The Japanese have sent their best sprinter over again today and he has handled him with a lot of authority," Purton said. "People can probably start giving him a little bit more credit than they have, but he has had a really good 18 months and he is still firing. Let's hope we can keep it going for another season or two."
Raging Blizzard ran on well for third under Brenton Avdulla, five lengths behind the winner, with Fast Network fourth for James McDonald.
Ka Ying Rising collected a HK$5 million bonus on top of the first prize of more than HK$13 million, pushing his career prizemoney beyond HK$148 million. He paid the minimum dividend of 1.05.
Hayes said the five-year-old would now head to the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Conghua training facility near Guangzhou for a well-earned break after another faultless campaign in which he has won eight-from-eight.
The Australian trainer's focus will then shift to a second tilt at The Everest, the world's richest turf race, held at Randwick in Sydney in October and worth more than HK$50 million to the winner.
"I am really looking forward to getting him a break at Conghua and getting his head down in those day paddocks," Hayes said. "Then before it gets really hot he will come back into work and get a bit of that Aussie cash again, which will be nice."
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
