Six-time Group 1-winning sprinter Ka Ying Rising has been crowned Timeform’s Horse of the Year for 2025, with the champion also named Timeform’s Champion Sprinter.
Trained by David Hayes, Ka Ying Rising was also crowned Hong Kong Horse of the Year for the 2024/25 season and has continued to establish himself as one of the most dominant sprinters in world racing.
The New Zealand-bred gelding has now won 17 of his 19 career starts, including a remarkable sequence of 16 consecutive victories. His earnings stand at HK$122.57 million, with the winning streak equalling Golden Sixty’s record and sitting one short of Silent Witness’ all-time Hong Kong mark.
According to Timeform, Ka Ying Rising produced five individual performances rated 130 or higher during the past season, highlighted by five Group 1 victories and two at Group 2 level. Those performances formed part of his 16-race unbeaten run, which he will attempt to extend in Sunday’s HK$13 million Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin.
“He’s the best horse I’ve trained and he’ll be the best horse I’ve seen if he keeps going the way he is,” Hayes said.
“His best attributes are his high-cruising speed and his ability to lengthen at the business end of his races.”
Ka Ying Rising’s highest Timeform rating of 135 came after his victory in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin under Zac Purton, a performance that confirmed his status as the world’s leading sprinter.
That win came ahead of his second consecutive success in the HK$28 million Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) in December, and followed an earlier performance in which he carried 135lb to defeat Group 1 winner Lucky Sweynesse and a quality field on September 7.
Later in the year, Ka Ying Rising travelled to Australia where he claimed the world’s richest turf race, the AU$20 million Group 1 The Everest (1200m) at Randwick, becoming the first international-trained horse to win the event.
As a four-year-old in 2024, he had already announced himself on the global stage when winning the HK$5.35 million Group 2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint, breaking Sacred Kingdom’s long-standing 1200-metre track record at Sha Tin with a time of 1:07.43.
He continued his dominance the following season by capturing the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup in 1:07.20, before completing the Hong Kong Speed Series with victories in the Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), securing the HK$5 million series bonus.
Previous winners of the Hong Kong Speed Series include Mr Vitality, Grand Delight, Silent Witness and Lucky Sweynesse.
In other Timeform awards for 2025, Calandagan was named Champion Middle-Distance Horse with a rating of 133, Field Of Gold was crowned Champion Miler on 127, Minnie Hauk was named Champion Filly/Mare on 127, and Trawlerman took Champion Stayer honours, also rated 127.
Founded in 1948 by Phil Bull, Timeform is a globally recognised racing authority based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and is regarded as one of the leading providers of racing data and performance analysis worldwide.
