Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior shared Horse of the Year honours in an unprecedented tie for Hong Kong racing’s most prestigious title at Friday night’s Champion Awards.
Ka Ying Rising joined Golden Sixty, Beauty Generation, Ambitious Dragon and Fairy King Prawn as back-to-back winners of the Horse of the Year, while Romantic Warrior also claimed the title for the second time following his 2023-24 success.
The six-member judging panel, chaired by Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, couldn’t split the champion pair.
In one of the greatest single seasons ever, Ka Ying Rising was unbeaten from eight starts, with victory in the world’s richest turf race, the A$20 million (HK$109 million) The Everest at Randwick the highlight.
The David Hayes-trained superstar broke Silent Witness’ Hong Kong record of 17 consecutive wins, extending his streak to 20, broke three track records at Sha Tin and rose to global recognition as the world’s top-ranked horse.
