Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior, Tied at the Peak of Hong Kong Racing
- Turf Diario
- hace 8 horas
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In an unprecedented historic milestone, two horses shared the prestigious title of Hong Kong Horse of the Year. The brilliant sprinter Ka Ying Rising was crowned Horse of the Year for the 2024/25 season following a flawless undefeated campaign, while the legendary Romantic Warrior received the highest honor for the second time in his extraordinary career
SHA TIN, Hong Kong (Special for Turf Diario).— The 2025/26 Hong Kong racing season concluded with an unprecedented historic milestone. For the first time since the inception of the Champion Awards, two horses were honored as joint Horses of the Year, sharing the ultimate accolade during a glittering ceremony held in the Grand Ballroom at the Rosewood Hotel.
The recipients were Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior, two absolute titans who dominated the season and became the only active runners to boast two Horse of the Year crowns on their resumes. Ka Ying Rising received the award corresponding to the 2024/25 cycle, while Romantic Warrior was honored once again following the extraordinary campaign that had previously seen him consecrated in 2023/24.
Trained by David Hayes for the Ka Ying Syndicate, Ka Ying Rising solidified his status as the planet's premier sprinter with a flawless season: eight starts, eight victories, five of them at the absolute highest level. The son of Shamexpressextended his winning streak to an incredible 20 consecutive victories, shattering the historic record of 17 straight wins held by the legendary Silent Witness (El Moxie), which had stood unchallenged for over two decades.
In addition to retaining his title as Champion Sprinter, he captured the Hong Kong Speed Series for the second consecutive year and capped a phenomenal season by setting three consecutive track records: 1m19.36s for the 1,400 meters of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (G1), 1m07.12s in the Sprint Cup (G2), and 1m07.10s in the Chairman's Sprint Prize (G1).
His historic campaign also featured a monumental achievement abroad, becoming the first overseas-trained horse to capture The Everest (G1) in Sydney, the world's richest turf race. On the strength of these performances, he maintains an international rating of 131, currently sharing the top spot in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings and leading the global sprint classifications by a wide margin.
Meanwhile, Romantic Warrior, conditioned by Danny Shum, proved yet again that he ranks among the finest thoroughbreds in the modern history of Asian racing. After successfully recovering from arthroscopic fetlock surgery, he returned in spectacular fashion to win both the Hong Kong Cup (G1) and the QEII Cup (G1) for a historic fourth time, anchoring an unforgettable campaign.
The superstar graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale also captured the coveted Hong Kong Triple Crown by sweeping the Stewards' Cup (G1-1,600m), the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1-2,000m), and the Champions & Chater Cup (G1-2,400m). In doing so, he became only the third horse in history to achieve the feat, joining the immortal River Verdon (Be My Native, 1993/94) and Voyage Bubble (Deep Field, 2024/25).
With 5 additional G1 victories over the course of the season, Romantic Warrior propelled his career earnings to a world-record HK$ 288,745,697. He was deservingly recognized as Champion Middle-Distance Horse for the fifth consecutive season, while adding the titles of Champion Miler and Champion Stayer to his haul.
The awards ceremony also honored Invincible Ibis (Hellbent), trained by Mark Newnham, as Champion 4-Year-Old and Most Improved Horse after capturing the prestigious Hong Kong Derby and rising a massive 57 points in the official handicap to reach a rating of 112.
Among the newcomers, Hot Delight (Too Darn Hot), prepared by Francis Lui, was named Champion Griffin after winning 4 of his 5 starts and concluding his freshman campaign with a rating of 89.
In the human categories, Zac Purton wrote another chapter in his legendary career by securing his 9th Hong Kong Champion Jockey title, a milestone season in which he also celebrated his 2,000th victory in the jurisdiction.
The awards for Champion Trainer, the Tony Cruz Award for leading local rider, alongside the Most Popular Jockey and Most Popular Horse accolades, will be announced following Sunday's fixture at Sha Tin, or at the latest, after the season finale next Wednesday at Happy Valley.
