It’s not often a galloper yet to salute at the top level overshadows an eight-time Group One winner with the second-most prize money ever.
But that’s what has happened in the build-up to Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR), with Ka Ying Rising the talk of the town despite the fact Romantic Warrior stands on the cusp of history.
There’s not much that hasn’t been said about Ka Ying Rising this week, with trainer David Hayes suggesting “he could be the horse of a lifetime” and even comparing the sprinter to great Australian duo Winx and Black Caviar.
“He has got a wonderful temperament, he is easy to train and is very sound. [He has] a massive stride length and I call it an extra action,” Hayes
“When you watch a lot of gallops and racehorses, you see very few horses with what I see as the extra action and the extra action I have seen in my career just recently is of course Winx and Black Caviar.”
That pair have 40 Group One wins between them. To even go close to living up to the hype that has built through his seven consecutive victories, Ka Ying Rising must bag his first elite-level prize in convincing style in this weekend’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).
“He doesn’t need to be any better than he has been at his last two starts,” jockey Zac Purton said of Ka Ying Rising, who lowered the Sha Tin 1,200m track record despite being eased down late in last month’s Group Two Jockey Club Sprint.
“He is certainly a different horse to sit on than all the rest of the them. He has just got to come out and reproduce that same performance. It’s just a matter of him doing it on the big day when it matters – everyone is here and I think that’s what people want to see. Hopefully that’s what happens.”
Ka Ying Rising will start one of the shortest-priced favourites in HKIR history, while Romantic Warrior is looking to step into the rarest air with a record third straight win in the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m).
Victory would see him move to HK$177.3 million in prize money and past Golden Sixty as the highest-earning horse of all time.
While Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior are expected to demand much of the attention at Sha Tin on Sunday, the home team could also have the favourite of the Group One Hong Kong Mile in Voyage Bubble.
Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Group One winner is joined on the richest card in Hong Kong racing by a string of fellow locals boasting elite-level success, with Beauty Eternal, California Spangle, Invincible Sage and Victor The Winner all chasing more glory at the top level.
Then there are the 27 internationals who have converged on HKIR in search of their share of the HK$126 million on offer across the afternoon’s four features.
The Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m) has proven a playground for raiders and Japan’s Stellenbosch, Australia’s Without A Fight, Luxembourg for great Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien and France’s Marquisat all look legitimate chances of finishing the year with victory on Hong Kong’s biggest stage.
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