Ka Ying Rising made it 19 wins on the bounce with a typically dominant performance in the Sprint Cup at Sha Tin on Monday.
Having surpassed Silent Witness’ previous record of 17 successive victories by landing a second Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup in February, Hong Kong’s superstar sprinter was the star of the show in one of two Group Two prizes up for grabs on the public holiday card.
Supporters of the David Hayes-trained eight-time Group One winner will have had few concerns, with Ka Ying Rising travelling with his usual panache in the slipstream of Stellar Express turning into the home straight before rocketing clear – and while he was only pushed out to claim his 20th win from 22 career starts under Zac Purton, he again broke the six-furlong track record.
“He was exceptional when you look at the time and the ease with which he ran it,” Hayes told the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
“Zac is a bit upset because he has to get a new top because it had the (old) track record on it! He now has to change it.
“I think they must have gone pretty hard into the wind and then he popped out and took advantage of the tail wind (in the home straight).
“It was one of his easier wins. When they’re 20-1 on they probably should win easily, but it’s not easy to do.”
While Ka Ying Rising regularly meets the same horses in his homeland, with Helios Express chasing him home on each of his last three starts and eight times in all, he showcased his talent on the world stage by winning The Everest at Randwick last October and a return to Australia is likely to be on his agenda.
Hayes added: “I think he’ll be a better horse when he goes down for The Everest next time. Behind the gates and everything he does, he’s taking it in so well and when you saddle him up he’s a quieter horse – he’s just really maturing.
“The Everest will be different opposition. There’s some very good, young horses in Australia that we look forward to racing against and they can come here for the international races.
“We’ll just keep on doing what we’re doing because it’s working so well and it’s not stressing our horse. We’re hoping to have him for another couple of seasons, definitely one more at the top.
“He’s nearly two and a half years undefeated so if he can get the next one in, which he’ll be favourite to do, not many horses have ever done that.
“Zac’s words were he thinks he’s getting better and the faster they go the better he is.”
