Ka Ying Rising on the ascent
Sizzling win in G2 Premier Bowl augurs well for trainer Hayes’ ‘very special horse’
HONG KONG - Clocking one of the fastest 1,200m times ever recorded at Sha Tin, Ka Ying Rising continued a relentless march towards the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) in December with an imperious victory in the Group 2 Premier Bowl Handicap (1,200m) on Oct 20.
Posting his seventh win from nine starts, Ka Ying Rising was unextended in running 1min 7.57sec to narrowly miss eclipsing Sacred Kingdom’s long-standing course record of 1:07.50, while cruising to a 1½-length margin over Helios Express in the HK$5.35 million (S$902,000) feature.
Three-time Group 1 winner California Spangle was third, a further 1½ lengths away.
Last season’s Hong Kong Champion Griffin and Most Improved Horse, Ka Ying Rising jumped cleanly and settled third behind California Spangle and Harmony N Blessed before unleashing a devastating sprint over the final 200m to give jockey Zac Purton his third Premier Bowl win and trainer David Hayes his first.
“Zac came in and said ‘When do you want to break the track record’?” Hayes said. “He’s a very special horse. He can quicken off a fast pace. Those two horses in front are fast horses. I’m very excited about him.”
Hayes, who has 14 wins for the 2024-25 season, has plotted an ambitious path for the Shamexpress gelding towards the Group 2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1,200m) on Nov 17 ahead of the HK$26 million Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) on Dec 8.
“He’s getting stronger and physically he’s still got a bit of improvement in him. He hasn’t got the body of California Spangle, but he went up 14lb (6.35kg) between runs and he’s getting stronger,” Hayes said, before indicating Ka Ying Rising would also be set for the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1,600m) on Jan 31.
“The Classic Mile is part of his programme. He relaxes, takes the box seat and he was actually bought as a 1,400m horse or a miler. For a four-year-old race, I’ll give it a go, that’s the race to try it in.
“He’s bred to run a mile, he’s got the manners to run a mile and, after that, we can work out whether we keep him as a sprinter or be tempted by the (BMW Hong Kong) Derby (2,000m). He relaxes beautifully and that’s what a good horse does.”
Purton, who has ridden some of Hong Kong’s best sprinters including Lucky Sweynesse and Aerovelocity, said Ka Ying Rising continued to mature and improve with each run.
“He’s getting better every start, he’s just handling the pre-race things a lot better and standing a lot better in the gates,” said Purton.
“He’s a really intelligent horse, he knows his job really well now and, hopefully, this is just the start of what could be an exciting journey.
“He always had it in his control. I just had Beauty Waves getting on my heels mid-race, firing him up a little bit but, apart from that, it all went pretty smoothly.
“He hasn’t got to his grand final yet and produced a performance like that... He’s maturing all the time, he seems to be handling his races a lot better, pulling up nicely.
“It’s another soft win for him. Even though he’s run a really good time, it’s a win that shouldn’t take a lot out of him and there’s a nice gap now between his next run and the one after. I didn’t have to really get to the bottom of him so, hopefully, he eats up well and is happy.”
Purton also scored on the Francis Lui-trained Packing Hermod in the Class 3 Shared Prosperity Handicap (1,200m), and also combined with Hayes and Master Mastermind in the Class 4 Community Growth Handicap (1,400m).
Hayes also struck with Youth Power in the Class 5 The With You. Then. Now. Always. Handicap (1,600m) under Keith Yeung.
A three-time winner in Italy as a two-year-old, the gelding had been unplaced in 15 previous attempts.
Mark Newnham’s strong season continued with a double.
The Australian produced Win Speed (Matthew Chadwick) to land the Class 4 You Make Good Possible Handicap (1,400m), before former Argentina Group 1 winner Bravehearts (Matthew Poon) snared the Class 3 Creative Spirit Handicap (1,600m).
John Size bagged the Class 4 Striding On Together Handicap (1,200m) with outsider Majestic Express (Brenton Avdulla), before Karma (Vincent Ho) posted his third win in four starts with success in the Class 2 HKJC 140th Anniversary Cup Handicap (1,600m) for Caspar Fownes.
Cody Mo’s Hong Kong International Sale graduate Patch Of Time (Karis Teetan) finished powerfully to land the Inspiring Community Handicap (1,200m), before the Ricky Yiu-trained Green N White (Hugh Bowman) resumed in convincing fashion by winning the Class 3 Love Racing Handicap (1,400m). HKJC
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