Cover image courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
Hong Kong is the proving ground for tough gallopers who thrill fans over several seasons, and Sunday’s action at Sha Tin continued to showcase their best. The lead up meeting to their big International meeting in December gave fans exactly what they’d turned up in droves to see.
Ka Ying Rising will be back for another Everest
Trainer David Hayes immediately gave Australian racing fans something to anticipate after his stunning sprinter Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}) made it 15 in a row with an emphatic victory in the G2 Jockey Club Sprint. Hayes announced Ka Ying Rising loved to travel and would be back for another crack at The Everest in 2026.
“To the eye, I thought it was probably one of his best wins. That was as easy as I’ve seen him do it – maybe in this race last year, but I thought it was probably better than this one last year when he (Purton) did the kiss cam,” trainer David Hayes told hkjc.com.
“Zac agreed with me. He thought he gave him probably the best feel in the last 15 (races), so that’s a great sign. He just showed us that he’s right on song. He raced at the heaviest Hong Kong weight (1158lb, {525kg}) he’s ever been today, which suggests he’s getting bigger, stronger, better.
“It’s just a dream come true to have a horse like this, and I really want to thank my team that travelled him overseas and didn’t miss a beat with him and brought him back in better condition than he left.
“He’ll be set for (2026) The Everest now again and, of course, we’ve got the big international race in three weeks which is his short-term grand final, so it’s all very exciting.”
In January 2025, he set the Sha Tin 1200-metre record when he won the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup in 1:07.20. After that, he won four more in Hong Kong, then he travelled to Australia where he bolted home in the G1 The Everest. Home again, he almost broke his own track record in Sunday’s G2 Jockey Club Sprint, coming home in 1:07.33 while easing up slightly for jockey Zac Purton.
The win gives him 16 career wins, and 15 in succession. It’s the third highest run of wins for a Hong Kong-trained horse after Silent Witness (El Moxie {USA}) who won 17 in a row and Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro {USA})’s 16.
The 5-year-old gelding won by 2.8 lengths from Fast Network (NZ) (Wrote {Ire}) with G3 Sha Tin Vase winner Helios Express (Toronado {Ire}) in third and Group 1 winner and former Champion Sprinter Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse) in fourth.
Zac Purton | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“He just looks better all the time. He’s mentally getting better. It’s hard to say that he’s improving or that he’s going to get better, but he’s certainly enjoying what he’s doing and handling it really well,” Purton said.
“It was good to see him win like that today without having to go to the bottom of him, so it’s a nice confidence-boosting win as he comes back. I’ve never seen him look so good. We were hoping he was going to do that, and it’s good for him to back up what we were thinking.
“Mid-race, Beauty Waves was probably just half a step too slow – I know we’ve run nearly a track record time – but he (Ka Ying Rising) was on his tippy toes behind him wanting to go quicker. That’s the beauty with this horse, the faster they go, the better he is.”
Romantic Warrior resumes in style
Resuming after 232 days away from racing, the world’s highest earning racehorse Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) resumed in style, winning the G2 Jockey Club Cup for the third time in his career. He won this race in 2022 and 2024. The long layoff was due to rehabilitation after fetlock surgery when he sustained an incomplete fracture there after running second in the G1 Dubai Turf during Meydan’s Dubai World Cup meeting.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my team, especially my stable assistant and his home rider. They put a lot of effort into him and, of course, my stable vet Lawrence Chan – he’s also helped him a lot,” trainer Danny Shum said.
“Before the race I talked to James and we all understood that the pace would be slow, and then we said the most important thing is to relax the horse. He had a good turn of foot, we were not worried about the pace being slow.”
He will now target a fourth G1 Hong Kong Cup at the international meeting on December 14. “It’s not easy to take a horse 232 days back to a Group 2 over 2000 (metres). He’s a superstar, he’s got talent and is smart,” Shum said.
“He didn’t look seven years old, even when he turns eight, he will think he’s still a baby. I will just keep him happy; he’s fit at the moment. If you really want me to put a figure on it, I will say he was 85 per cent. After this race, he will put on another 10 or 12 pounds. I’d like to thank Hugh Bowman, of course, he trials the horse a lot and teaches the horse to relax. He also helps the team and the stable a lot.”
The win took his prizemoney to HK$217.7 million (AU$43.3 million), further extending his lead as the world’s richest horse. In second place was five-time Group 1 winner Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) while emerging 5-year-old gelding Ka Ying Generation (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) was third.
“He’s so special. It takes the words out of my mouth to be fair, it’s an absolute privilege to ride him and every time he goes around there’s a huge smile on the face. He’s really touching, that horse,” jockey James McDonald said.
James McDonald | Image courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
“Him (Danny) and his team just gloat over him, he’s a special horse – one of a kind. His training performance is incredible. To have him looking how he did, feeling how he did and performing how he did was a real testament to his training ability.”
Galaxy Patch gives McDonald a stakes double
Soon to be crowned 2025’s World Best Jockey, James McDonald rode a masterpiece of Galaxy Patch (Wandjina) in Sunday’s G2 Jockey Club Mile to overcome the hot favourite My Wish (Flying Artie), despite suffering interference in the running. McDonald had a stakes double with Romantic Warrior and Galaxy Patch.
“He did really well. He got a bit of a check at the 800 (metre mark), and he regathered himself and came with a good surge. A nice confidence-boosting win heading into December and we’ll see how we go,” McDonald told hkjc.com.
Galaxy Patch hadn’t won for 13 months, and trainer Pierre Ng credited the addition of blinkers to the improvement in form. “Obviously, with the gear change, with the blinkers, he finished stronger to the line, but still a little bit of improvement has to be made,” Ng said.
“We waited for very long (for this win). This preparation has gone really well. Last month’s (race) was a bit unlucky with the run – he ran sixth. And today, luckily, it opened up well for him.”
My Wish was a little flat in running fourth. It was Ricky Yiu-trained Sunlight Power (Capitalist) who ran second and Frankie Lor-trained Happy Together (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) grabbed third. Galaxy Patch will head to the G1 Hong Kong Mile next where My Wish also heads. “We waited for a long time for him (James McDonald) – he was busy last season with Voyage Bubble. So this season we waited for him. It was the first time he rode him in a race, he won it. We’re looking forward to the next one,” Ng said.
Of note for pedigree enthusiasts, Galaxy Patch’s damsire More Than Ready (USA) had a double at the meeting with the first on the card won by Mabubu (Zousain) who is out of Furiosa (More Than Ready {USA}). Galaxy Patch is out of unraced Voltara (More Than Ready {USA}) who produced eight winners and Galaxy Patch was her second-to-last foal. She also produced stakes placed winners Comearoundsundown (Not A Single Doubt) and Creativity (Master Of Design). Comearoundsundown had an Exceedance filly this spring.
Double for Hellbent
Invincible Ibis (Hellbent) will be set for the 4-Year-Old series after winning his second in succession for trainer Mark Newnham on Sunday. The 4-year-old gelding has done all his racing in Hong Kong, placing in his first three starts, and now winning twice.
“He’s a horse certainly on the improve. Now that he’s stepped up to 1400m he’s a lot more comfortable, but I think we’ll probably see his best when he gets to a mile,” Newnham told scmp.com.
“He needed to win today to start to boost his rating, but at this stage he looks a suitable horse (for the Classic Mile). He had a nice, smooth race today. First run in Class Three and did the job well. He didn’t look like he was on empty – he was still strong on the line, so he’ll probably step up to the mile next time.” Newnham won the Listed Classic Mile, the first leg of the Series, with My Wish last season.
It was a double to Hellbent when Sky Joy saluted in the penultimate race on the card for trainer Ricky Yiu, and the win kept jockey Jerry Chau in the hunt for the local jockey slot in the upcoming International Jockeys’ Championship. Vincent Ho remains one win ahead, but if Chau can level the scores, he will get the slot by virtue of having ridden more second placings than his rival. Sky Joy has won three of his five starts and placed in both his other two outings.
Sky Joy was sold by Yarraman Park Stud at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale for $24,000 to S Nolen, and his JCS Thoroughbreds on-sold him at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale for $210,000 to Ricky Yiu. Sky Joy is out of Magic Of Dreams (Magic Albert) who resides in Western Australia now and has a yearling filly by Aysar. Magic Of Dreams is a city-winning half-sister to Group 3 winner Fine Bubbles (Casino Prince).
Invincible Ibis, as well as sharing a sire, also went through the same Inglis Classic Yearling Sale as Sky Joy. Invincible Ibis was sold by Widden Stud for $80,000 to Kilgravin Lodge and Waikato Bloodstock. Kilgravin Lodge sold him at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale to trainer Mark Newnham for NZ$425,000. He is the last foal of My Dear Friend (General Nediym) who is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Harry’s Son (Haradasun).
