Excitement grows for Ka Ying Rising and his first G1

There is an air of excitement amongst the connections of Ka Ying Rising as the boom four-year-old prepares for the Group 1 Hong Kong International Sprint at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Ka Ying Rising will start as an overwhelming odds-on favourite with betting sites in Australia for the Group 1 Hong Kong International Sprint (1200m) despite drawing awkwardly in barrier 11.

It follows the Shamexpress gelding’s career best victory last start at Group 2 level on November 17 where he broke the long standing 1200m Sha Tin track record held by the legendary Sacred Kingdom since 2007.

“Zac (Purton) doesn’t often kiss the camera with 100 metres to go and he was really switched off for the last 50 metres,” his trainer David Hayes said.

“So as times go, there’s probably a little bit more opportunity there (to break the track record again).”

Hayes could not have heaped any more praise on Ka Ying Rising, labelling him the best horse he’s trained at the ten start mark of any stable runner’s career and comparing the four-year-old to elite company of Australian racing.

“I’ve been saying it all week, I haven’t handled one as good at the 10-start mark,” Hayes said.

“Let’s hope I’m saying that at the 30-start mark.

“He’s got a wonderful temperament, he’s easy to train, he’s very sound. He has a massive stride length, and I call it an extra action when you watch a lot of gallops and racehorses. You see very few horses with what I call the extra action. The extra action I’ve seen in my career just recently is of course Winx and Black Caviar, and I think it’s well documented they have that huge stride.

“I’m sure if you measured this horse when he lets go, he’s got one of those extra strides. I’m not saying he’s as good as them, he’s got to be around for four years probably and not lose, but he’s got an action and he’s a raw talent that is pretty exciting.”

Regular jockey Zac Purton was similarly effusive when discussing Ka Ying Rising’s development into Hong Kong’s star sprinter.

“He’s running some very quick time,” Purton said.

“The scary thing is you don’t feel like you’re going that quick. He feels like he’s only going three-quarter or half pace. He’s certainly a different horse to sit on than all the rest of them.

“If anything, his action just continually seems to improve all the time. He’s really starting to float across the ground now. It’s amazing how well he’s moving. It bodes well for his future.”

The Group 1 Hong Kong International Sprint (1200m) is Race 5 on Sunday’s bumper ten race program at Sha Tin Racecourse and is scheduled to jump at 2:50pm HKT (5:50pm AEST).