Ka Ying Rising delivered a 20th consecutive victory in the HK$24 million G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin on Sunday, breaking his own track record for the second start running and cementing his claim as the world's premier racehorse with a performance that completed back-to-back Hong Kong Speed Series triumphs.

Another Record Falls

The world's highest-rated horse clocked 1m 07.10s over 1200m, shaving two-hundredths of a second off the mark he set in his previous outing. He now holds six of the nine fastest times ever recorded over the Sha Tin 1200m turf course. After a pedestrian opening 200m, he unleashed a devastating final 400m in 21.52s — his quickest closing sectional to date.

The victory, combined with earlier wins in the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup and G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, secured the Speed Series for a second consecutive season and delivered connections a HK$5 million bonus. He becomes only the second horse to complete the sweep twice.

Clinical Execution

Zac Purton positioned Ka Ying Rising third early as stablemate Tomodachi Kokoroe led, with last-start Group 1 winner Satono Reve tracking wide. Purton sent his mount forward at the 300m, and the response was emphatic. Without being fully extended, Ka Ying Rising pulled four and a quarter lengths clear of Satono Reve at the line.

Purton described the execution as straightforward, noting the horse's rhythm allowed him to simply wait for the right moment. "When I let him go he quickened, but he did take a couple of strides to balance up a little, but once he quickened, he quickened extremely well and a long way out he felt very comfortable and very confident," the jockey said, acknowledging the track record was broken despite Ka Ying Rising not being pushed to his limit.

Pressure and Perspective

Trainer David Hayes admitted the pre-race tension of sending out a horse at prohibitively short odds — the second favourite was quoted at 90/1 — created its own burden. The relief in victory was palpable as Hayes placed the achievement in historical context, calling Ka Ying Rising one of the all-time greats in what he described as the Year of the Horse.

Hayes traced his evolving assessment of the sprinter, from thinking he might be the best he'd trained to being certain of it a year ago, to now considering him among the finest he has ever witnessed. He said he felt fortunate to be associated with a horse of this calibre.

Ka Ying Rising will now be spelled before returning to defend his title in the G1 The Everest in Sydney this October, where the world's richest turf race awaits.