Two sprint superstars share history as Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior crowned co-Hong Kong Horse of the Year

For the first time in the history two star gallopers were crowned co-Hong Kong Champions at a special presentation held at the Grand Ballroom of the Rosewood Hotel in Hong Kong tonight (Friday, 10 July).

Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior take top honours in the Champion Awards

Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior are now both two-time Hong Kong Champions, as Ka Ying Rising was crowned 2024/25 Horse of the Year and Romantic Warrior was named Horse of the Year in the 2023/24 season.

Owned by Ka Ying Syndicate and trained by David Hayes, Ka Ying Rising also returned back-to-back Champion Sprinter titles after scoring five Group One race wins this season.

His triumph in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) not only left him unbeaten with eight wins from eight starts during the term, but also took his unbeaten streak to 20 consecutive races. Prior to that he broke Silent Witness’s record of 17 consecutive Hong Kong wins set nearly 21 years ago.

Ka Ying Rising and Zac Purton win the Chairmans Sprint Prize at Sha Tin Racecourse in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, China on April 26, 2026. Photo By: Alex Evers/ HKJC

The world’s premier sprinter closed the season with an incredible three track-record performances in as many races – clocking 1m 19.36s in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), 1m 07.12s in the G2 The Sprint Cup (1200m) and 1m 07.10s in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), while claiming Hong Kong Speed Series for the second year in a row.

In addition, the sprint superstar became the first overseas-trained horse to win the world’s richest race on turf, the G1 The Everest (1200m) in Sydney, Australia. He currently carries an international rating of 131 and is the world’s top-rated sprinter.

The Danny Shum-trained Romantic Warrior also enjoyed plenty of success, winning both the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and FWD QEII Cup (2000m) for an unprecedented fourth time. A graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale, Romantic Warrior made a remarkable comeback from fetlock surgery this term, and once again dominated the middle distance and stayer divisions, becoming only the third horse in Hong Kong history behind River Verdon in 1993/94 and Voyage Bubble in 2024/25 to secure the Triple Crown – which requires the same horse to land the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m), G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in the same season.

Romantic Warrior withJames McDonald wins the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Sha Tin, Hong Kong on March 01, 2026. Photo by: Alex Evers / HKJC

Same as Ka Ying Rising, Romantic Warrior also won five G1 races this term, boosting his prizemoney to a world record-extending HK$288,745,697. Based on his outstanding achievements, he was named Champion Middle-Distance Horse five years in a row, and also Champion Stayer. In addition, he is crowned this year’s Champion Miler based on his brilliant winning performance in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m).

Trained by Mark Newnham, Invincible Ibis was named this season’s Champion Four-Year-Old. The son of Hellbent snared the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) with a convincing victory. In his subsequent start he also ran a creditable fourth in the G1 Champions Mile (1600m), his first time of asking in the Group one event. In addition, he was also named the season’s Most Improved Horse after scoring 57 points to a career-high rating of 112 with five wins from nine starts in the season.

The Francis Lui-trained Hot Delight capped a remarkable first season as Champion Griffin of Hong Kong. Achieving a career highlight with victory in Class 2, the son of Too Darn Hot shot up 37 rating points and now sits on a career-high figure of 89. He rounded off his first season with four wins and one fourth from just five starts.

Zac Purton is now a nine-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey. The Australian rider enjoyed another brilliant season of dominance, including reaching 2,000 career wins in Hong Kong.

This season’s Champion Trainer, the winner of the Tony Cruz Award for the season’s leading homegrown rider, Most Popular Jockey and Most Popular Horse will be announced either at the conclusion of Sunday’s (12 July) 87th Sha Tin meeting, or Wednesday’s (15 July) 88th and final fixture this season at Happy Valley.

10/7/2026 World’s top-rated sprinter Ka Ying Rising and Triple Crown winner Romantic Warrior declared co-Hong Kong Champions For the first time in the history two star gallopers were crowned co-Hong Kong Champions at a special presentation held at the Grand Ballroom of the Rosewood Hotel in Hong Kong tonight (Friday, 10 July). Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior are now both two-time Hong Kong Champions, as Ka Ying Rising was crowned 2024/25 Horse of the Year and Romantic Warrior was named Horse of the Year in the 2023/24 season. Owned by Ka Ying Syndicate and trained by David Hayes, Ka Ying Rising also returned back-to-back Champion Sprinter titles after scoring five Group One race wins this season. His triumph in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) not only left him unbeaten with eight wins from eight starts during the term, but also took his unbeaten streak to 20 consecutive races. Prior to that he broke Silent Witness’s record of 17 consecutive Hong Kong wins set nearly 21 years ago. The world’s premier sprinter closed the season with an incredible three track-record performances in as many races – clocking 1m 19.36s in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), 1m 07.12s in the G2 The Sprint Cup (1200m) and 1m 07.10s in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), while claiming Hong Kong Speed Series for the second year in a row. In addition, the sprint superstar became the first overseas-trained horse to win the world’s richest race on turf, the G1 The Everest (1200m) in Sydney, Australia. He currently carries an international rating of 131 and is the world’s top-rated sprinter. The Danny Shum-trained Romantic Warrior also enjoyed plenty of success, winning both the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and FWD QEII Cup (2000m) for an unprecedented fourth time. A graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale, Romantic Warrior made a remarkable comeback from fetlock surgery this term, and once again dominated the middle distance and stayer divisions, becoming only the third horse in Hong Kong history behind River Verdon in 1993/94 and Voyage Bubble in 2024/25 to secure the Triple Crown – which requires the same horse to land the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m), G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in the same season. Same as Ka Ying Rising, Romantic Warrior also won five G1 races this term, boosting his prizemoney to a world record-extending HK$288,745,697. Based on his outstanding achievements, he was named Champion Middle-Distance Horse five years in a row, and also Champion Stayer. In addition, he is crowned this year’s Champion Miler based on his brilliant winning performance in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m). Trained by Mark Newnham, Invincible Ibis was named this season’s Champion Four-Year-Old. The son of Hellbent snared the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) with a convincing victory. In his subsequent start he also ran a creditable fourth in the G1 Champions Mile (1600m), his first time of asking in the Group one event. In addition, he was also named the season’s Most Improved Horse after scoring 57 points to a career-high rating of 112 with five wins from nine starts in the season. The Francis Lui-trained Hot Delight capped a remarkable first season as Champion Griffin of Hong Kong. Achieving a career highlight with victory in Class 2, the son of Too Darn Hot shot up 37 rating points and now sits on a career-high figure of 89. He rounded off his first season with four wins and one fourth from just five starts. Zac Purton is now a nine-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey. The Australian rider enjoyed another brilliant season of dominance, including reaching 2,000 career wins in Hong Kong. This season’s Champion Trainer, the winner of the Tony Cruz Award for the season’s leading homegrown rider, Most Popular Jockey and Most Popular Horse will be announced either at the conclusion of Sunday’s (12 July) 87th Sha Tin meeting, or Wednesday’s (15 July) 88th and final fixture this season at Happy Valley. The Champion Awards Judging Panel announced the winners for the 2025/26 season during this evening’s presentation ceremony as follows:

INVINCIBLE IBIS ridden by Hugh Bowman wins the THE BMW HONG KONG DERBY 2026 at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on March 22, 2026. Photo by: Alex Evers /HKJC

Hot Delight is this season’s Champion Griffin

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (the Club) has pledged its full support to the Hong Kong, China team competing in the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. Club Chairman The Hon Martin Liao together with Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges attended the flag presentation ceremony today (1 September) to give the delegation a heartfelt send-off ahead of the Games. The Club will provide cash incentive awards for medallists at the Games.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Chairman The Hon Martin Liao (left, first row) together with Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (right, first row) attended the flag presentation ceremony. Photo source: The Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hon Martin Liao, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said that as a world-class equine sports organisation, the Club has consistently supported sports development at the elite and community levels through a wide range of initiatives, also aiming to broaden participation in sport at the grass-roots level. Initiatives include the Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme, through which the Club provides cash incentives to Hong Kong, China athletes to encourage excellence at major events. He noted that, in doing so, the Club aims to inspire peak performance in elite competitions. On behalf of the Club, he wished the Hong Kong, China team every success at the 20th Asian Games.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Chairman The Hon Martin Liao (center) together with the athletes, Photo source: The Hong Kong Jockey Club

In August, the Club announced a new cycle of the JCAIAS, supporting its implementation by the Hong Kong Sports Institute. The scheme will cover seven major upcoming sporting events. The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, scheduled to take place from 19 September to 4 October 2026, will be the first major event under the new JCAIAS cycle. The Club will provide cash awards to members of the Hong Kong, China team who win gold, silver and bronze medals in individual and team events. Gold medallists in individual and team events will receive HK$1 million and HK$2 million, respectively.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club has pledged its full support to the Hong Kong, China team competing in the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games. Photo source: The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme - Details of Cash Incentives:

Gold

Individual: HK$1,000,000/Team: HK$2,000,000

Silver

Individual: HK$500,000/Team: HK$1,000,000

Bronze

Individual: HK$250,000/Team: HK$500,000