Ka Ying Rising, the world's highest-rated sprinter, delivered a powerful reminder of why he holds that honor with a smooth, seemingly effortless 3-length victory in the Sprint Cup (G2) March 30 at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong—his 11th straight win.
The 5-year-old, with jockey Zac Purton back from an injury layoff, never seemed in doubt while he tracked three-time group 1 winner California Spangle through the early sectionals. Halfway through the 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs), Purton pushed the button and Ka Ying Rising did the rest while toting 128 pounds to all rivals' 123.
"The leader today didn't go as fast as I was hoping he would go," Purton said. "I traveled a bit stronger than I would have liked and with the extra weight on his back, I didn't want to sit around and wait for the others. So I sent him for home early and just let him do what he does.
"He was always cruising and he didn't give us a moment of worry and that's the good thing about him."
Helios Express and Lucky With You came on for second and third as Ka Ying Rising finished in 1:08.18, never asked for his best effort.
The David Hayes trainee, rated 124 on the Longines World's Best Racehorses ledger and 6 pounds better than his closest rival in the sprint category, would have been well fancied had he been directed to the Al Quoz Sprint (G1) on the April 5 Dubai World Cup (G1) card. Instead, he is set to wrap up his season at home in the Chairman's Sprint Prize (G1) April 27. Hayes has, however, hinted at a tilt in the Everest (G1) in October in Australia.
"Even Zac's starting to acknowledge the horse's ability now," Hayes said. "It took a while but he's starting to say he's quite special and he really is. He runs those times with ease. The way he looks and the way he's behaving, he is improving his manners. Clearly, his ability has been there the whole time."
Ka Ying Rising still has a way to go before challenging for the local consecutive-wins record as Silent Witness holds that mark with 17 and recently retired Golden Sixty visited the winner's enclosure 16 straight times. A win in the Chairman's Sprint prize would be his eighth of the 2024-25 season and tie him with Beauty Generation and Lucky Sweynesse in that category.
