Ka Ying Rising has capped his tremendous unbeaten season by being named Hong Kong Horse of the Year, the first sprinter to claim the award since Sacred Kingdom 15 years ago.
The David Hayes-trained Ka Ying Rising will head to The Everest in October as the king of Hong Kong racing after he was announced as Horse of the Year in a ceremony overlooking Victoria Harbour on Friday night.
Ka Ying Rising won all eight of his starts during the 2024-25 season, including four Group 1 wins. His last success in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize in April moved him to a domestic rating of 134, alongside Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble.
“It’s a reward for the journey we have been through,” owner representative Leung Shek-kong told a packed ballroom at Rosewood Hong Kong. “I feel emotional and blessed. Many thanks to David Hayes and his leadership, this is the work of a wonderful team and their sweat and tears over the season.
“I hope Ka Ying Rising can continue to add more trophies to the cabinet, beginning with The Everest in October.”
The Hong Kong Horse of the Year is chosen from the winners of five separate sub-categories: Champion Sprinter, Champion Miler, Champion Middle-Distance Horse, Champion Stayer and Champion Four-Year-Old.
Both Champion Sprinter and Champion Stayer were known heading into the event as Ka Ying Rising and Voyage Bubble were the only nominees. Voyage Bubble also won Champion Miler as expected, but was beaten to Champion Middle-Distance Horse by Romantic Warrior, while Ka Ying Rising also added Champion Four-Year-Old.
That left the big three hopes as contenders for Hong Kong Horse of the Year and, ultimately, it was Ka Ying Rising that was crowned champion.
The six-person panel included Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, executive director of racing Andrew Harding and head of racing product Greg Carpenter. It also included three members of the Association of Hong Kong Racing Journalists: Carlos Wu, Ho Wing Keung and Simon Leung.
Ka Ying Rising joins some of the greats of Hong Kong racing – like Romantic Warrior, Golden Sixty, Beauty Generation, Able Friend, Ambitious Dragon, Sacred Kingdom, Viva Pataca, Vengeance Of Rain, Silent Witness, Fairy King Prawn and River Verdon – as Horse of the Year. ∎
