With only two days until the first Hong Kong Group 1 race of 2026 – and with the Year of the Horse looming – it is appropriate that KA YING RISING is again at the centre of international focus with this extraordinary sprinter on the cusp of more history at Sha Tin this Sunday (25 January).
As the first overseas-trained horse to win the G1 The Everest (1200m) – which this week was acknowledged as horseracing’s premier sprint in the LONGINES World’s Top 100 Group 1 races – and as Sha Tin’s 1200m course record-holder, KA YING RISING will contest the HK$13 million G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) where, if successful, he would equal the mighty SILENT WITNESS’s longstanding record of 17 successive wins by a Hong Kong-trained horse.
The enormity of this potential achievement cannot be underestimated in any jurisdiction and especially in Hong Kong, where the extreme competitiveness of our racing means even the slightest weakness is quickly detected and exploited.
On my fleeting visit to London this week for the LONGINES World’s Best Horse Racing Rankings ceremony, where KA YING RISING was ranked joint second behind CALANDAGAN, the widespread acclamation of Hong Kong’s champion sprinter was abundantly obvious.
And so, on a weekend, where we celebrate the elite horseracing in New Zealand and Dubai with Group 1 contests, it is only fitting that KA YING RISING, ROMANTIC WARRIOR and VOYAGE BUBBLE – the city’s three “HEAVENLY HORSES KINGS” – share the same billing at Sha Tin this weekend.
With ROMANTIC WARRIOR and VOYAGE BUBBLE to clash in the HK13 million G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) – only two races after KA YING RACING chases racing immortality for David Hayes, Zac Purton and the Ka Ying Syndicate in the Centenary Sprint Cup – Hong Kong racing will again draw global attention with our Gentleman’s Raceday.
The Centenary Sprint Cup marks the start of the Hong Kong Speed Series, while the Stewards’ Cup is the first leg of the Triple Crown, conquered last season by the remarkable VOYAGE BUBBLE, who also annexed the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in a wonderful display of versatility and excellence for Ricky Yiu, James McDonald and the Sunshine And Moonlight Syndicate.
With James riding ROMANTIC WARRIOR this weekend and Zac aboard VOYAGE BUBBLE, racing followers around the world will be treated to another battle of tactics between these champion jockeys, adding another layer of excitement to what shapes as incredible day of racing.
I would like to express my congratulations to Danny Shum for reaching 900 wins in Hong Kong as a trainer with BLAZING WIND’s success at Sha Tin on Wednesday night (21 January). Danny has become an ornament to Hong Kong racing, firstly as an assistant to Ivan Allan and then as a globetrotting trainer in own right and his management of ROMANTIC WARRIOR for owner Mr Peter Lau has been pivotal to the global champion’s success at Group 1 level in four separate jurisdictions.
As anticipation builds towards this Sunday’s Group 1 double-header, the first of three World Pool meetings starts at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai with the Al Maktoum Challenge Day.
The first of four races to be simulcast from Meydan is the G3 Al Shindagha Sprint, which is carded as S1-1 and will be run over 1200m on dirt at 11.15pm on Friday (23 January).
The G1 Al Maktoum Challenge is carded as S1-3 and will be run over 1900m dirt at 0.25am on Saturday (24 January).
WALK OF STARS (Tadhg O’Shea) is the probable leader and is expected to set a solid tempo from IMPERIAL EMPEROR (Richard Mullen), MASMAK (Bernardo Pinheiro) and REMORSE (Sandro Paiva).
WALK OF STARS easily won this race last year and ran fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup (2000m), finishing just behind FOREVER YOUNG. WALK OF STARS is one of six horses in this year’s race for trainer Bhupat Seemar and, from gate three, is a win and place chance.
IMPERIAL EMPEROR finished second to WALK OF STARS in this race last year and impressively won the G2 Al Maktoum Mile (1600m) last start and is a place chance, along with KABIRKHAN (Andrew Slattery), who won the Al Maktoum Challenge in 2024.
HEART OF HONOR (Saffie Osborne) is also a place chance after beating WALK OF STARS by almost four lengths over 1900m last month, but faces a tougher task here at equal weights after carrying 7lb less than WALK OF STARS last start.
ARTORIUS (William Buick) is another contender.
The first of six races to be simulcast from Ellerslie Racecourse in New Zealand is the HKJC World Pool Jo Giles Stakes, which is carded as S2-1 and will be run over 1400m at 11.24am on Saturday (24 January).
The feature race is the G1 Railway Stakes, which is carded as S2-6 and will be run over 1200m at 2.28pm.
The pace will be good with ALABAMA LASS (Craig Williams) likely to lead from JIGSAW (Logan Bates) with ARKANSAW KID (Opie Bosson), CROCETTI (Warren Kenneday) and SWEYNESDAY (Masahiro Hashizume) all prominent.
ALABAMA LASS finished a narrow second in this race last year to CROCETTI and has drawn perfectly in gate five and, with two wins and a second from only three starts at Ellersie, is my win and place selection.
ARKANSAW KID is yet to win at Group 1 level but is a multiple Group 2 winner and is again one of the main contenders along with CROCETTI, who faces a potentially tricky start from gate nine, while SWEYNESDAY is in great form with two wins at Ellerslie at his past two starts.
ESPIONAGE (Damian Lane) and JIGSAW are also place chances.
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