A bumper crowd is expected to converge on Sha Tin this Sunday. Photos: Kenneth Chan
There’s always plenty of buzz in the lead-up to the Hong Kong season opener, but Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting takes on even greater significance as it doubles as the farewell party for the world’s best sprinter, Ka Ying Rising.
Initially hesitant to run Ka Ying Rising under handicap conditions in the scorching September sun – lobbying Jockey Club officials for a set weights contest – trainer David Hayes will pit his superstar against 11 worthy adversaries in the Class One HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m), most of whom are in receipt of 20lb from the gun speedster.
Ka Ying Rising, the reigning Horse of the Year, is still expected to jump a red-hot favourite as he chases a 13th consecutive victory before heading straight into quarantine ahead of his tilt at the A$20 million (HK$102 million) The Everest (1,200m) in Sydney next month.
Sitting atop the Hayes-trained galloper on Sunday afternoon will be Zac Purton, who enters this term fresh off another record-breaking campaign where he passed Douglas Whyte’s all-time win record of 1,813 and landed an eighth jockeys’ premiership.
