Even a supreme optimist would quickly turn into a pessimist if they attempted to offer a calculated argument why any of Ka Ying Rising\u2019s 11 opponents in Sunday\u2019s (14 December) HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) could defeat the world\u2019s highest-rated sprinter.<\/p>
The market will again offer almost unbackable odds for the David Hayes-trained gelding to claim his 16th consecutive victory.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s quite amazing to think he\u2019ll be in a Group 1 with very good horses and the second favourite will be 20\/1,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cYou just don\u2019t see that.<\/p>
\u201cIt won\u2019t be a walk in the park but the market says it will be.\u201d<\/p>
Hayes said there were several contenders, among them John Size-trained Helios Express, who has had four Group 1 placings behind Ka Ying Rising, including a narrow second in last year\u2019s LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”10705″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Hugh Bowman, who has ridden Helios Express in his past nine races, said he has been on some really top horses, and while he was not suggesting his gelding was up there with the best he has ridden, he is a very reliable horse.<\/p>
\u201cHe is a horse with outstanding talent and he is a genuine Group 1 horse, in my opinion. But he has come along at a time when he is taking on a once-in-a-lifetime thoroughbred in Ka Ying Rising and we all have a healthy respect for him and what he is doing,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>
\u201cBut I can\u2019t go out there and try and undo the favourite, that\u2019s not going to help me. I just have to go out there and pad up and we\u2019ll do our best to run a peak performance and it was nearly good enough last year. We went very close and hopefully we can do that again.\u201d<\/p>
Bowman had the privilege of riding a horse that few could beat \u2013 champion mare Winx who won her last 33 races before being retired \u2013 so he knows how such dominance feels.<\/p>
\u201cWe have to be realistic about our task and we are and, like I said, it\u2019s not about beating Ka Ying Rising but it\u2019s about getting Helios (Express) to run a peak performance and if he does that, I\u2019ll be very happy,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>
The closest Bowman said Helios Express came to beating Ka Ying Rising was in last year\u2019s edition of the Sprint when perhaps the champion was a little vulnerable after lowering the Sha Tin 1200m track record in his lead-up race in the G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m).<\/p>
He believes Ka Ying Rising ran below par in the Sprint but still won by half a length.<\/p>
\u201cHis preparation this year suggests he could be in for a peak performance in the Sprint, Ka Ying Rising, so let\u2019s hope not but it\u2019s looking that way. But Helios Express, I think, is also ready to run the biggest race of the season and probably his life.\u201d<\/p>
Ryan Moore, who takes the ride on Satono Reve, noted the international had been placed twice at Sha Tin, including a close third in last year\u2019s Sprint.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s (Satono Reve) been second and third here so he\u2019s got course form and he\u2019s a Group 1 winner,\u201d Moore said. \u201cHe\u2019s running against the best sprinter in the world, but he\u2019s a nice ride to get.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
James McDonald said his ride in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint, Fast Network, who finished second to Ka Ying Rising at his last start, is a good horse, but he won\u2019t beat the champion.<\/p>
He said the combination of Zac Purton and Ka Ying Rising was a match made in heaven.<\/p>
\u201cBoth have got the same demeanour. They both are ruthless competitors,\u201d he said<\/p>
McDonald said Ka Ying Rising had a similar racing style to champion mare Black Caviar, who went through her 25-race career undefeated.<\/p>
\u201cThey don\u2019t do it the soft way and he is a bit like Romantic (Warrior) and he is up in the firing line and is there to be beaten,\u201d he said.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”10704″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Even a supreme optimist would quickly turn into a pessimist if they attempted to offer a calculated argument why any of Ka Ying Rising\u2019s 11 opponents in Sunday\u2019s (14 December) HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) could defeat the world\u2019s highest-rated sprinter.The market will again offer almost unbackable odds… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":10704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10701"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10701"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10752,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10701\/revisions\/10752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-hkir\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}