Ka Ying Rising is officially rated the best racehorse on the planet.
The unbeaten Hong Kong sprinter was elevated to a career-high mark of 135 in the latest LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings released on Thursday, the highest rating ever awarded to a sprinter and enough to restore him to outright No. 1 in the world.
The four-point rise followed Sunday's record-shattering win in the G3 HKSAR Chief Executive's Cup Handicap (1,200 meters) at Sha Tin, where David Hayes' six-year-old carried top weight of 135 pounds, conceded 20lbs to his rivals and still bolted in by seven and three-quarter lengths in 1m 06.11s.
It leaves him four points clear of Ombudsman (131) and, remarkably, three points better than Black Caviar, whose 132 for the 2011 G1 Newmarket Handicap had stood as the benchmark for sprinters. The Australian mare retired unbeaten after 25 starts.
Ka Ying Rising has now won 21 in a row and has not been beaten since February 2024.
The Zac Purton-ridden gelding closed 2025 on 128, climbed to 130 in May and 131 in July before Sunday's blitz. His 135 is the joint-fourth highest figure in the history of the rankings, behind only Frankel (136 and 140), Flightline (140) and Sea The Stars (136), and level with Baaeed, Harbinger and Japan's best-ever performer, Equinox.
Sunday's clocking was his sixth course record at Sha Tin and his fifth over the 1200m turf. The Shamexpress gelding first broke Sacred Kingdom's 17-year-old mark of 1m 07.50s when he ran 1m 07.43s in the 2024 G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint, then lowered his own figure to 1m 07.20s in the 2025 G1 Centenary Sprint Cup, 1m 07.12s in the 2026 G2 Sprint Cup and 1m 07.10s in the 2026 G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize. He also holds the 1,400m record at 1m 19.36s from the G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.
Behind Ombudsman, recently retired three-year-old Bow Echo is next on 127, with Romantic Warrior – a 15-time Group 1 winner – French four-year-old Daryz and G1 International Stakes hero Item all rated 126.
The nine-time Group 1 winner has entered quarantine at Sha Tin and will fly to Sydney later this month to defend his crown in The Everest, the world's richest turf race, at Royal Randwick on October 17.
