Even a supreme optimist would quickly turn into a pessimist if they attempted to offer a calculated argument why any of Ka Ying Rising’s 11 opponents in Sunday’s (14 December) HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) could defeat the world’s highest-rated sprinter.
The market will again offer almost unbackable odds for the David Hayes-trained gelding to claim his 16th consecutive victory.
“It’s quite amazing to think he’ll be in a Group 1 with very good horses and the second favourite will be 20-1,” Hayes said. “You just don’t see that.
“It won’t be a walk in the park, but the market says it will be.”
Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong International races at Sha Tin including three other Group 1s, the Vase, Mile and $40 million (HK) Cup with Romantic Warrior in the field.
Hayes said there were several contenders, among them John Size-trained Helios Express, who has had four Group 1 placings behind Ka Ying Rising, including a narrow second in last year’s Longines Hong Kong Sprint.
Hugh Bowman, who has ridden Helios Express in his past nine races, said he has been on some really top horses, and while he was not suggesting his gelding was up there with the best he has ridden, he is a very reliable horse.
“He is a horse with outstanding talent and he is a genuine Group 1 horse, in my opinion. But he has come along at a time when he is taking on a once-in-a-lifetime thoroughbred in Ka Ying Rising and we all have a healthy respect for him and what he is doing,” Bowman said.
“But I can’t go out there and try and undo the favourite, that’s not going to help me. I just have to go out there and pad up and we’ll do our best to run a peak performance and it was nearly good enough last year. We went very close and hopefully we can do that again.”
Bowman had the privilege of riding a horse that few could beat – champion mare Winx, who won her last 33 races before being retired – so he knows how such dominance feels.
“We have to be realistic about our task and we are and, like I said, it’s not about beating Ka Ying Rising, but it’s about getting Helios (Express) to run a peak performance and if he does that, I’ll be very happy,” Bowman said.
The closest Bowman said Helios Express came to beating Ka Ying Rising was in last year’s edition of the Sprint when perhaps the champion was a little vulnerable after lowering the Sha Tin 1200m track record in his lead-up race in the G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m).
He believes Ka Ying Rising ran below par in the Sprint, but still won by half a length.
“His preparation this year suggests he could be in for a peak performance in the Sprint, Ka Ying Rising, so let’s hope not, but it’s looking that way. But Helios Express, I think, is also ready to run the biggest race of the season and probably his life.”
Ryan Moore, who takes the ride on Satono Reve, noted the international had been placed twice at Sha Tin, including a close third in last year’s Sprint.
“He’s (Satono Reve) been second and third here, so he’s got course form and he’s a Group 1 winner,” Moore said. “He’s running against the best sprinter in the world, but he’s a nice ride to get.”
James McDonald said his ride in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint, Fast Network, who finished second to Ka Ying Rising at his last start, is a good horse, but he won’t beat the champion.
He said the combination of Zac Purton and Ka Ying Rising was a match made in heaven.
“Both have got the same demeanour. They both are ruthless competitors,” he said.
The Longines Hong Kong Cup (Group 12000m race) with a total prize money of HK$40 million features the world’s richest horse, Romantic Warrior, but trainer Hiroyuki Uemure is eagerly anticipating sending his prized Bellagio Opera to compete against the seemingly invincible foe.
Trained by Shen Jicheng, Romantic Warrior aims to achieve a record-breaking fourth consecutive victory in this race, while Bellagio Opera, which has triumphed in the Osaka Cup (a Group 1 2000m race) for two consecutive years, is considered the most likely to shatter the dream of this champion-level horse.
Uemura & Co. “highly valued Romantic Warrior” but emphasized that they would never send the horse on a long expedition unless they were certain that ‘Opera’ had a chance to win the bid.
Uemura stated, “This is a very challenging task. I know Romantic Warrior is a very strong competitor, but I believe Bola Opera is of excellent quality and capable of competing with it. As trainers, we brought the horse here to defeat it.”
The 52-year-old Uemura differs from his contemporaries in that he was once a jockey, and his representative achievement during his jockeying career was winning the Sprint Championship (a Group 1 race of 1200 meters) with Sleepless Night in 2008.
Although Hiroyuki Uemura retired eleven years ago, he has been training with Polaris ever since before its debut. Polaris made its debut in a new horse race at Hanshin in late 2022 and won on its first try.
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