Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club
David Hayes believes Ka Ying Rising’s (NZ) (Shamexpress) extraordinary dominance can continue indefinitely after the world’s premier sprinter demolished quality opposition to post a Hong Kong record 18th successive victory in course record time in the HK$13 million Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Stretching his unbeaten sequence beyond Silent Witness’ longstanding mark of 17 wins, slotted between 2002 and 2005, Ka Ying Rising imperiously steamrolled his opposition in 1m 19.36s to smash the previous course record of 1m 19.92s, jointly held by Encouraging and Packing Hermod.
Jockey Zac Purton confirmed Hayes had told him pre-race “to break the track record” after he had ridden Ka Ying Rising hands-and-heels to the finish, three-and-half-lengths clear of Helios Express with Lucky Sweynesse one-and-a-quarter lengths further astern.
Improving his overall record to 19 wins from 21 starts – after two narrow seconds as a three-year-old – Ka Ying Rising jumped quickly from barrier three to sit second behind Copartner Prance and clocked 21.93s from the 1200m to the 800m before putting his rivals to the sword over the final 800m in a blistering 43.96s, with respective 200m splits of 11.26s, 11.07s, 10.52s and 11.11s to create history.
Unbeaten since February 2024, Ka Ying Rising’s unbeaten streak includes eight Group Ones – two Longines Hong Kong Sprint victories (2024 & 2025), two Centenary Sprint Cup titles (2025 & 2026), The Everest (2025), the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (2025) and now a pair of Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup trophies (2025 & 2026).
The stunning nature of Ka Ying Rising’s latest victory prompted Hayes to declare that the five-year-old could sustain his current level of excellence for the next 18 months, fitness permitting.
“If we can place him conservatively, we hope to have him for another couple of seasons, that’s really exciting,” Hayes said. “He loves a month between runs, so we’ll probably go for the (Gr.2) Sprint Cup (1200m) next (on 6 April) and then we don't have to train him too hard and babysit him into the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m on 26 April).
“Hopefully we can get another clean sweep of the season again with The Everest in the middle.
“He's more composed than ever, he's changing legs and you can't ask for much more than he's doing. He's breaking track records and his last three runs, he'd have broken the track record if Zac had let him go.
“He jumped so well (today) and cruised through the bend beautifully – at the 300m, I could really enjoy it. I could tell he had the race in command. Zac went for him a bit more than he normally does and rode to instructions, which was good.
“I've trained a lot of horses that have gone 742 days without winning, so to continuously win for 742 days is mind-numbing. It's two and a half years and the thing people don't realise is that he was the (equal) youngest horse in the race today. They always think he's the big boy bashing them up, but he's actually the baby.
“It's a huge relief. I didn't think the team could have had him better for today and I was confident that if the track was riding fast, he could break the (track) record. I didn't want Zac sitting up in the last 100m, I said to him 'let him run through the post and we'll see how strong he is at 1400m'. He's just a star.
“I just thought for his worldwide ratings, I wanted Zac to let him go today and hopefully he can keep climbing up that incredible ladder that he's going up. When you've got a horse as good as him, he's the one everyone will be comparing the next big horse too.”
Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club
Purton notched his fifth victory in the race following wins on Ambitious Dragon (2013) and Beauty Generation (2018, 2019 & 2020) and believes Ka Ying Rising has reached his peak.
“I think he’s reached his level and it’s just a matter of managing him now and try to preserve that for as long as we can,” Purton said. “He’s the horse of a lifetime. I just shake my head every time with the performances he puts up and the ease with which he does.
“I’ve just got to pinch myself, I’m so lucky. He’s just different – he’s in a league of his own. They’re very good horses that he’s racing against, and he just does it like he’s having a barrier trial and let’s hope he can stay in this form for another 12 or 18 months.
“It was pretty straightforward. He jumped well, he was in a lovely rhythm behind Copartner Prance. Patch Of Theta went to move around me about the 1200m and I just made sure I was going to give my horse plenty of room. And then he just did his job – he did what he does.
“To be etched in history now forever is part of my legacy, part of David’s and a part of Ka Ying Rising and hopefully he can continue on doing what he’s doing. We’re all enjoying being associated with him and I think everyone is enjoying watching him being successful as well.
“The horse deserves all the credit. He’s the one with the ability and he continues to step out, race after race, and blow good quality horses away and it’s very unique to see that.”
Currently the second-highest rated horse in the world, Ka Ying Rising also holds the 1200m turf course record (1m 07.20s).
