Ka Ying Rising eyes record 20th straight win amid weather concerns

David Hayes has no concerns about the prospect of a rain-affected track for Ka Ying Rising as the champion sprinter bids for a record-extending 20th straight win in Sunday's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) at Sha Tin. The Hong Kong Observatory has predicted showers and occasional thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday, with more showers forecast on Saturday. At this stage, the unstable weather is tipped to clear on Sunday. Ka Ying Rising, who currently sits atop the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2026, won his only start on a good to yielding track when he blitzed his rivals in the Class One HKSAR Chief Executive's Cup (1,200m) in 2024. While the Sha Tin track was officially rated good for the same race at the start of this season, the Chief Executive's Cup was run in heavy rain and Ka Ying Rising again handled the conditions when surging to victory. "I've run him a couple times here in the wet and one time he nearly ran a track record," Hayes said. "It was pouring on opening day [this season]. It came up as good, but the ground was wet. "You know the tracks here – if it doesn't rain on the day, the track runs fast." Champion jockey Zac Purton has raised concerns about Ka Ying Rising handling a wet Randwick track in the Group One The Everest (1,200m) in October, but that is a different prospect to Sha Tin where genuine wet tracks are a rarity. "Zac's got a theory on the Australian wet versus Hong Kong wet. That would concern me, but not in Hong Kong," Hayes said. Ka Ying Rising will defend his Chairman's Sprint Prize crown against seven rivals – Japan's Satono Reve, Ireland's Comanche Brave and Hong Kong sprinters Helios Express, Fast Network, Raging Blizzard, Beauty Waves and the Hayes-trained Tomodachi Kokoroe. The eight-time Group One victor scorched the Sha Tin turf in a gallop last Thursday and will complete his preparation with light work this week. "He'll do an in-hand piece of work tomorrow with Zac on board and he'll just swing around again on Friday," Hayes said. Hayes will also be represented by Rubylot in Sunday's much-anticipated Group One QEII Cup (2,000m) with Hugh Bowman booked for the ride. "Hopefully he can pick up some prize money and it will get him on song for the Queen Mother Memorial Cup," Hayes said. "He needed a hard hit-out before that race." The Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2,400m) is run a week after the FWD Champions Day meeting. Meanwhile, several of the international raiders set for Champions Day completed light work on Sha Tin's dirt track and trotting ring on Monday morning. They included French star Sosie, who completed a slow canter on the all-weather on Monday morning. "He arrived yesterday and travelled perfectly. He's in good condition and he likes it here," Andre Fabre's travelling head lad Richard Lambert said. "He's relaxed and happy; he's a good character. He just did a trot and a slow gallop." Sosie, who won December's Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m), will take on Romantic Warrior in a star-studded edition of the QEII Cup. Japan's Satono Reve, one of Ka Ying Rising's chief rivals in the Chairman's Sprint Prize, was given some light exercise in the trotting ring. "He is very relaxed. As it's much hotter and more humid here than in Japan, we'll be careful not to overwork him and will adjust his training accordingly," Noriyuki Hori's assistant trainer Ryusuke Saito said.