Ka Ying Rising surges into Hong Kong racing history with 18th straight win

David Hayes believes Ka Ying Rising’s 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 G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (22 February).

Ka Ying Rising thrashes his rivals to win the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup. Photo source: the Hong Kong Jockey Club

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 1s – 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).

Silent Witness reigned from December 2002 to April 2005, snaring seven top-level features – the Hong Kong Sprint in 2003 & 2004, two Centenary Sprint Cups (2004 & 2005), two Chairman’s Sprint Prize triumphs (2004 & 2005) and the 2005 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup.

Zac Purton and David Hayes celebrate with Leung Shek Kong of the Ka Ying Syndicate. Photo source: the Hong Kong Jockey Club

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 (G2) 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.”

Zac Purton has won 18 races aboard Ka Ying Rising. Photo source: the 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).

Purton also triumphed aboard Manfred Man-trained debutant Almighty Lightning (128lb) in the Class 4 Daffodil Handicap (1000m), Cool Blue (122lb) for Chris So in the Class 5 Jasmine Handicap (1800m), Pierre Ng’s Aerovolanic (131lb) in the Class 4 Peach Blossom Handicap (1400m) and Cool Boy in the Class 3 Peony Handicap (1200m) for Jamie Richards.

Stellar Express (134lb) slotted his fifth course and distance success in the Class 2 Orchid Handicap (1000m), clocking 55.36s for John Size and Andrea Atzeni. Formerly known as Dariym, the Zoustar gelding won three races in France when trained by Francis-Henri Graffard.

Frankie Lor notched a treble, prevailing with the talented Smart Golf in the Class 4 Heung Yee Kuk Centenary Cup Handicap (1200m) under Harry Bentley, Embrace Aberdeen (135lb) in the Class 4 Gladiolus Handicap (1200m) under Matthew Poon before the impressive Salon S clinched the Class 3 Rose Handicap (1400m) to give Poon a treble.

Poon also triumphed on David Hall’s Power Of Vitam landed the Class 3 Primula Handicap (1600m) and earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million after All’s Well bolted in with the Class 4 Peach Blossom Handicap (1400m) under Dylan Browne McMonagle for Dennis Yip.

Hong Kong racing continues on Wednesday night (25 February) at Happy Valley.

Young people are a vital force for societal progress. To enhance upward social mobility among youth, and in line with the goals set out in the Government’s Youth Development Blueprint, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust launched JC YUP in 2025 with a donation of over HK$440 million. The project’s innovative strategy provides targeted interventions at the three critical development junctures in young people’s transition from school to work. It supports young people in building a sense of pride, broadening their career horizons and laying a solid foundation for a positive career trajectory as they begin their working lives.

To highlight the proud moments of young people participating in the project, the “Say YUP! Proud Moment Showcase” was held today (17 July), bringing together students, school representatives and NGO partners to share their experiences, learning journeys from self-initiated challenges and achievements from the past year. Officiating at the opening ceremony were Edward Yau, JC YUP Advisory Committee Convenor; and Winnie Ying, Head of Charities (Education & Youth Cluster) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Edward Yau, JC YUP Advisory Committee Convenor (4th right), Winnie Ying, Head of Charities (Education & Youth Cluster) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (3rd left) and other guests officiate at the “Say YUP! Proud Moment Showcase” opening ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Winnie Ying noted that nurturing children and youth in families is one of the priority areas of the Club’s charities strategy, and the Club supports a wide array of youth activities and services in the community. Through JC YUP, the Club hopes to provide targeted interventions at three critical stages of youth development and identify effective evidence-based approaches that enable community resources to be deployed in a more targeted manner and achieve sustainable impact.

Winnie Ying, Head of Charities (Education & Youth Cluster) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, shared at the “Say YUP! Proud Moment Showcase” opening ceremony.

This ultimately helps young people establish positive development trajectories and creates greater opportunities for upward mobility over the long term. She added that she hopes the unique proud moments created by young people through the project become a driving force in their growth journey. Also at the event, Edward Yau shared his personal experiences to encourage young people to build the confidence to challenge themselves and explore life’s limitless possibilities.

JC YUP is one of the five youth development initiatives supported by the Club's Charities Trust under a HK$1.4 billion commitment announced in celebration of the Club's 140th anniversary last year. Collaborating with 25 partners, including schools, NGOs, universities and the business sector, the five-year JC YUP project adopts an adaptive intervention design to provide individualised and timely support according to each young person’s development needs and trajectory, as well as the rapidly changing environment.

Students from JC YUP participating schools perform at the “Say YUP! Proud Moment Showcase” opening ceremony.

The first stage of the project enables Form 1 students to create “Proud Moments” through self-initiated challenges, which build confidence and a sense of pride. The second stage of the project provides different types of workplace experience for young people to understand multiple pathways and various future job roles. The third stage of the project is a two-year “Professional Traineeship” programme for young people entering the workforce, creating a new progression pathway connecting school and theworkplace. JC YUP is expected to pilot in 50 secondary schools and benefit 30,000 students. For more details, please visit: https://www.jcyup.hk/en

Students from JC YUP participating schools and NGO partners share their experiences and learning outcomes from the past year.

In addition to donations, the Club’s Human Resources Department supported the project by organising a one-week career exploration and internship programme last month for five Form 4 students from JC YUP participating schools. Hosted by various divisions across the Club, the students gained first-hand exposure to a wide range of functions, workplace environments and career pathways.

Group photo.

Over the years, the Club has initiated and supported a wide range of programmes that empower young people to realise their potential and contribute as active citizens. In addition to CLAP@JC, which has uplifted the professional standards and service quality of career and life development education and services, 21C@JC, which has transformed youth service in the digital era, and JC LevelMind, which provides “Always On” mental wellbeing support services, the Club has supported the HKSAR Government’s annual youthfest@HK since its launch three years ago, which features a wide range of activities designed to bring young people together and to inspire them to realise a hopeful future. The Club has also supported the HKSAR Government’s Strive and Rise Programme for over three consecutive years. The programme helps young people from underprivileged backgrounds broaden their horizons, strengthen their self-confidence and set goals for the future.

Five Form 4 students from JC YUP participating schools took part in a one-week career exploration and internship programme organised by the Club last month.

The Club’s support for JC YUP, like all its charity and community donations, is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and responsible sports wagering generate substantial tax contributions, charity support and employment opportunities for Hong Kong.

Five Form 4 students from JC YUP participating schools took part in a one-week career exploration and internship programme organised by the Club last month.