Ka Ying Rising raced against history… and beat it by demolition
- Turf Diario
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
In Sha Tin, he achieved his 18th consecutive victory, surpassed the record of Silent Witness, lowered the record for the 1400 meters, and left the feeling that his ceiling is still far off
SHA TIN, Hong Kong (Special for Turf Diario).- There are horses that defeat rivals. Others defeat records. And then there is Ka Ying Rising, who seems to compete against time and history.
His performance in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (G1-1400 m) was less a race than a display of power. In the imposing setting of Sha Tin, the best sprinter on the planet not only repeated his victory in the race he had already conquered the previous year: he shattered the track record with a time of 1m19s36/100, leaving the previous history behind by more than half a second. And in sprint distances, half a second is an abyss.
But his harvest did not end there, as it was his eighteenth consecutive victory, which allowed him to surpass the record held by Silent Witness (El Moxie) and stand as the horse with the most consecutive wins achieved here.
From the final turn, when Zac Purton barely hinted at a request, the rest were reduced to spectators. Helios Express(Toronado) and Lucky Sweynesse (Sweynesse) —both G1 winners— tried to maintain the pace, but the champion's acceleration was of another dimension. Three and a half lengths at the wire do not tell the whole truth: the real difference lay in the ease of it.
"He is the horse of my life," Purton said afterward, still with that mixture of awe and privilege that comes from riding a phenomenon. "I pinch myself every time I ride him. He is in a league of his own." It wasn't just a cliché. It was the exact description of what was seen.
Trained by David Hayes, he had equaled the record of 17 victories set by the legendary Silent Witness in 2005 last month, after dominating the Centenary Sprint Cup (G1-1200 m) without breaking a sweat. That afternoon, Purtoneven had time to ease him up before the wire. This time it wasn't even necessary: the clock did the talking.
The most unsettling thing is that the 1400 meters seem to enhance him. Although he built his reputation over 1200, in the 7 furlongs he finds a perfect blend of speed and stamina. He doesn't fall apart; he doesn't fade. He changes pace and sustains it. It is a lethal combination.
He had already confirmed his international stature in October, when he defeated a world-class field in The Everest(G1) in Sydney, Australia. That victory established him as the number one sprinter on the planet. Saturday's performance in Hong Kong was an even more forceful message: it's not just about winning, but about dominating.
Purton expressed an almost selfish wish: that the horse can maintain his form for another 12 or 18 months. Racing, in reality, asks for something simpler: to enjoy him while he lasts. Because phenomena like this do not appear every year. And when they do, the stopwatch and history are usually the first to surrender...
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