World #1 racehorse Ka Ying Rising confirmed his status at the head of Thoroughbred Racehorse Commentary’s Global Rankings with another sprinting masterclass on his return to action at Sha Tin on Sunday [Sept 7].
Extending his winning streak to 13, the five-year-old brushed aside quality opposition under the burden of 9st 9lb in the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup, a Class 1 handicap over 1,200 metres (6f).
The HK$3.72 million (approx $480,000/£350,000) contest was Ka Ying Rising’s prep race before the Everest in Sydney on October 18 – and it could hardly have gone any better as he won eased down by 2¼ lengths over four-time G1 winner Lucky Sweynesse, who was receiving 9lb from the favourite.
An 86pt boost on TRC Rankings confirms the gelding in top spot for the 20th week as he recorded his 14th win in 16 career starts for trainer David Hayes.
What is more, jockey Zac Purton (stays at #8, +39pt) rated the performance as outstanding – perhaps as good as anything he had ever done before.
“To carry that weight against those horses at that speed first-up and do what he did, it’s probably the equal of any performance he’s put up, I think,” said eight-time HK champion jockey Purton, who recorded a five-timer on the season-opening card.
“He’s come back in really good order. I said to David before the race that he just looks a different horse. He’s furnished really nicely and that’s what we wanted before we get on the plane and go down to Sydney.”
Hayes added: “We’ve been saying privately that we think he’s better than last year and I think that showed – the time he ran, the way he did it, the weight he carried. He’s bigger and stronger and probably better.”
“The worry with this prep was running with 135 (pounds) at the start, but I didn’t want to go six months between runs, first-up in an Everest. Now I know we’ve got him there, we just maintain him and he holds form for a long time this horse. That’s why he’s a champion.”
In Europe, trainer Francis Graffard (stays at #7, +63pt) continues in a rich vein of form, notching another couple of G1 victories.
Last year’s King George winner Goliath (#20 for #57, +163pt) returned to winning ways in Germany’s most prestigious race, the Grosser Preis von Baden to leave connections considering an ambitious autumn schedule taking in the Breeders’ Cup and Japan Cup.
Back on home soil at ParisLongchamp, unheralded thee-year-old Sahlan (#53 from #245, +261pt) rewarded Graffard’s bold initiative in targeting the Prix du Moulin by just holding on from top miler Rosallion (#46 from #60, +39pt) to claim the G1 prize.
Though the runner-up can yet again be deemed a trifle unlucky – wide draw, just failed after charging home from way back after a winner who got first run – Sahlan is not to be underestimated. Sent off a 16-1 shot on only his sixth career start, the progressive son of Wootton Bassett is now set for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Last year’s Arc runner-up Aventure (#25 from #55, +109pt) served notice that she will again be a force to reckon with in the Paris showpiece in three weeks’ time as she registered a comfortable victory in the Prix Vermeille.
The big disappointment here was odds-on favourite Whirl (#39 from #24, -51pt), whose Arc ambitions were dealt a hammer blow as she trailed in last of six in the G1 contest.
Byzantine Dream (in at #61) strengthened the Japanese Arc hand by downing Sosie, Almaqam and Los Angeles in a stacked renewal of the G2 Prix Foy while Cualificar (#139 from #256. +109pt) scored from what had looked an unpromising position halfway down the straight in the Prix Niel, often a reliable guide to the big show.
Indeed, it was all change on the Arc front on both sides of the Channel, as ante-post favourite Kalpana weakened late to be beaten by Giavellotto (#26 from #76, +109pt) in the G3 September Stakes on the all-weather at Kempton.
The winner’s fondness for faster ground makes the Arc an unlikely prospect; a repeat bid for the Hong Kong Vase is the principal target.
Kalpana (#63 from #70, +17pt), too, may now bypass the Arc in favour of defending her title at Ascot in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes.
“This was a prep and the Arc was always the plan, but we’ll just have to see how the fields develop,” said trainer Andrew Balding. “She’d had a couple of easy weeks after the King George. She’s a big filly now and she'll come on for that.”
• View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires
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• Unlike traditional methods of racehorse rankings, TRC Global Rankings are a measure of an individual’s level of achievement over a rolling three-year period, providing a principled hierarchy of the leading horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and sires using statistical learning techniques. Racehorse rankings can be compared to similar exercises in other sports, like the golf’s world rankings or the ATP rankings in tennis.
They are formulated from the last three years of races we consider Group or Graded class all over the world and update automatically each week according to the quality of a horse’s performances and their recency, taking into account how races work out.