After a consummate performance to extend his winning streak to 16 races in the Hong Kong Sprint, Ka Ying Rising has reclaimed his status as world #1 racehorse according to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s Global Rankings.
Observers were falling over themselves to find the superlatives as the five-year-old gelding ruthlessly dismissed his rivals in the HK$28m ($3.6m/£2.69m) contest at Sha Tin on Sunday [Dec 14].
Sent off a 1-20 shot – the lowest dividend possible – in a 14-runner field, Ka Ying Rising broke well from the inside gate and made nearly all to score eased down by 3¾ lengths.
This was totally imperious – and Ka Ying Rising now stands on the brink of Hong Kong racing immortality as he equalled Golden Sixty’s mark of 16 consecutive wins, just one shy of the all-time HK record of 17 held by Silent Witness.
He also reclaims top spot (#1 from #2, +115pt) on TRC Global Rankings after a two-week interregnum as Calandagan overhauled him in the Japan Cup.
“His last run showed us that it was on the cards today,” said his rider, the eight-time Hong Kong champion Zac Purton (#7 from #8, +77pt). “He drew the right gate, and when the barrier came out, they said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said he would win by further.
“He is just in a league of his own now,” Purton added. “Not having to do that extra work into the first corner from a wide gate to try and get forward, probably helped him.”
Ka Ying Rising recorded a TRC Computer Race rating of 132 for the third time; Calandagan has hit that mark once, in the Champion Stakes.
Ka Ying Rising is one of only three horses to sit at #1 in 2025, having in April succeeded compatriot Romantic Warrior (who also scored at Sha Tin in the HK Cup). The world-leading sprinter was recording his sixth G1 triumph as he defended his HK Sprint crown with ease; he now has a total of 32 weeks at the TRC summit.
Rankings #1s in 2025
With such a weight of expectation, trainer David Hayes (#10 from #11., +55pt) was relieved Ka Ying Rising had let nobody down. “He was just superb today,” he said. “The messages he was sending the week of the race suggested he’d do something like that. We are not running fast times today but he did – a lot faster than the other races.”
Hayes added that the world #1 will now have a short break before being set for Hong Kong’s Speed Series in the new year. “It will then be the big international sprint here and then he’ll be going to the Everest,” he said.
Romantic Warrior: historic four-timer
As good as he was, Ka Ying Rising was by no means the only domestic superstar to show their mettle at the annual Longines-sponsored HKIR meeting as both Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble retained their crowns against international rivals in the HK Cup and the HK Mile respectively.
Former world #1 Romantic Warrior made history with an unprecedented four-timer in the feature event, the HK$40m ($5.14m/£3.83m) Hong Kong Cup.
Already the world’s all-time leading prize-money earner, he took his amazing career total to HK$240m ($30.85m/£24.35m).
In truth, this wasn’t the strongest-ever renewal of the HKIR showpiece and Romantic Warrior (#4 from #5, +49pt) was completely unruffled as he overwhelmed his opponents to score by a length and three-quarters from Japanese-trained Bellagio Opera.
“He’s so special, he’s so special … he’s just a freak,” exclaimed jockey James McDonald (stays at #2, +8pt). “I don’t know what to say. I just love him. I love him.”
A rematch with Saudi Cup conqueror Forever Young in Riyadh in February beckons.
Voyage Bubble: as game as they come
Voyage Bubble (#10 from #23, +130pt), beaten by Romantic Warrior on his previous outing, dropped back a couple of furlongs to complete back-to-back successes in the HK Mile.
Overcoming a double-figure draw under Purton, the winner got the better of a fierce duel with Dubai Turf winner Soul Rush (#32 from #46, +46pt) by a half-length.
“I think he just showed what type of horse he is,” commented Purton. “He's not a horse that's going to give you a wow performance but he's got such a big heart that he's always up for a fight.”
Sosie: fourth for Fabre
The Hong Kong Vase over a 2,400 metres (1m4f) was the only one of the four HKIR to go abroad as Arc third Sosie (#19 from #51, +164pt) handed master trainer Andre Fabre (#12 from #15, +39pt) his fourth win in the race in the week he turned 80.
In an exciting finish, Sosie held last year’s winner Giavellotto (#42 from #49, +27pt) to score by three-quarters of a length.
“Everything went very smoothly,” said jockey Maxime Guyon (#34 from #40, +23pt).
“This horse can really sustain his run, and he is such a hard horse to pass. The horse has such a great temperament and he is so easy to put anywhere in a race.”
Now a four-time G1 winner, Sosie reportedly stays in training as a five-year-old; he is likely to start in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
“He is an incredible horse,” added Guyon. “This was the first time he’d travelled across continents, and yet he’s been relaxed every morning this week, and he’s looked amazing.”
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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.