Ka Ying Rising aims to extend streak at FWD Champions Day
Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress) will headline FWD Champions Day alongside Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) as the two highest-rated horses in the world seek records and glory against a strong international contingent at Hong Kong’s spring flagship meeting on Sunday, 26 April.
Competing for a record HK$78 million in prizemoney across the HK$30 million G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m), HK$24 million G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and HK$24 million G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), FWD Champions Day’s top-level features include 13 individual Group 1 winners among 38 selected runners (excluding reserves).
Record breaking sprinter Ka Ying Rising will chase a second Chairman’s Sprint Prize crown when he lines up searching for his 20th consecutive win, a record previously held by Silent Witness (Silent Witness) – who won 17 successive races – for a Hong Kong-trained horse.
David Hayes’ Hong Kong Horse of the Year (2024/25), first in the March edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings ahead of Romantic Warrior, can capture a second Hong Kong Speed Series bonus (HK$5 million), if he is successful again.
Sha Tin’s 1200m (1m 07.12s) and 1400m (1m 19.36s) course record holder, Ka Ying Rising, is currently on a 19-race winning streak, and faces familiar foe Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa) once again, who is twice placed in top-level races behind the eight-time Group 1 winner.
Mr Andrew Harding, Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “FWD Champions Day is always an outstanding day of racing, and we are delighted at the quality of the 2026 renewal.
“We have 13 visitors from overseas, including Masquerade Ball and Royal Champion, who will test the mighty Romantic Warrior in what shapes as one the FWD QEII Cup’s best renewals. Ka Ying Rising has won 19 races in a row, and his continued streak adds an increasing layer of excitement. In addition, our exciting four-year-olds will rise to the Group 1 challenge, including Invincible Ibis (Hellbent), Little Paradise (Toronado) and Stormy Grove (Toronado).”
