HONG KONG: Ka Ying Rising, ridden by Zac Purton, stormed to his 18th win in a row on Sunday to break the long-standing Hong Kong record of Silent Witness.
The world’s best sprinter made history as he obliterated the 1,400m (seven furlong) track record in the Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin by more than half a second.
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“He’s the horse of a lifetime,” said Purton after coming home a scarcely believable three-and-a-half lengths clear of Helios Express and fellow group One winner Lucky Sweynesse.
“I just pinch myself every time I ride him. He’s in a league of his own,” jockey Purton said after coming home in a record time of 1min 19.36sec.
“These are good class horses he’s beaten today. Let’s hope he can stay in this form for another 12 to 18 months.”
The David Hayes-trained superstar first won over this distance in the same race last year, having had most of his outings over 1,200m (six furlongs).
Ka Ying Rising repeated the victory with ease and, once Purton asked him to kick on from the final bend, no horse in a field stacked with group winners was able to live with his devastating turn of speed.
Ka Ying Rising had equalled Silent Witness’s 17-win record, set back in 2005, when barely extended in the 1,200m Group One Centenary Sprint Cup at Sha Tin last month.
Purton had time on that occasion to ease the five-year-old down well before the line, after a hands-and-heels run, and still won by a length and a half.
Ka Ying Rising beat a top-class international field at the Everest in Sydney last October to cement his standing as the world’s best sprinter. Ominously, he appears to have improved since.
