Ka Ying Rising, the world’s best sprinter, stretched his consecutive winning streak to 16 with victory in the HK$28 million Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin this morning.
The New Zealand-bred gelding secured his sixth Group 1 victory to enhance his record to 17 wins and two seconds from 19 starts with prize money of HK$122.5 million.
In a powerful display after drawing barrier one for the first time in his career, the Shamexpress gelding produced one of his best victories with a masterful ride from Zac Purton, who steered the champion into the middle of the home straight in search of the best ground.
Ka Ying Rising surged away to beat Raging Blizzard by three-and-three-quarter lengths, with Fast Network third after being eased down by Purton over the closing 150 metres.
“I think we showed everyone what he can do…”@zpurton reacts to Ka Ying Rising’s performance in the Hong Kong Sprint after blowing his rivals away at Sha Tin! 🔥 @HKJC_Racing | @HongKong_Racing | #HKIR | #HKRacing pic.twitter.com/HPvzjbdLjj
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) December 14, 2025
“In a league of his own”
Purton said Ka Ying Rising’s performance was what everyone wanted to see.
“His last run showed us that it was on the cards today,” he said. “He drew the right gate, and when the barrier came out, they said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said he would win by further.
“He is just in a league of his own now. And not having to do that extra work into the first corner from a wide gate to try and get forward, probably helped him.”
The best Hayes has trained
Declaring Ka Ying Rising the best horse he has trained, David Hayes said he was relieved the five-year-old gelding didn’t let the stable or the public’s expectations down.
“He was just superb today,” he said. “The messages he was sending the week of the race suggested he’d do something like that. We are not running fast times today but he did – (running) a lot faster than the other races.”
Hayes said there were horses in the race with Royal Ascot, Dubai and Breeders’ Cup form and they were probably the best sprinters around, and while Ka Ying Rising was making them look ordinary, he said they certainly weren’t.”
