Hong Kong Stars Fly Kiwi Flag Ahead of Karaka 2025

Less than a week out from the start of Karaka 2025, Sunday’s star-studded Hong Kong race meeting shone a bright spotlight on the quality of the New Zealand thoroughbred.

The headline act at Sha Tin was champion sprinter Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress), who extended his winning sequence to nine in a row with another scintillating performance in the HK$13m Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m).

The freakish four-year-old led all the way and blew his rivals away down the Sha Tin straight, opening up a winning margin of three and a quarter lengths. He set a new Sha Tin track record with his time of 1:07.20.

“We’ve had a lot of champion sprinters grace our turf here, and they’ve all had the chance to run the times he’s run,” jockey Zac Purton said. “So, yeah, he’s starting to become a really special horse.”

Ka Ying Rising has now had 12 starts for 10 wins, two placings and HK$38.3m in stakes (NZ$8.8m). He is now a dual Group One winner, having previously captured last month’s Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).

“He’s certainly the best sprinter I’ve had anything to do with and probably the best horse,” trainer David Hayes said. “He’s quite freakish. The last 100 metres today, Zac switched the engine off, so in the two track records he’s broken, he’s actually eased him down the last 100 or 80 metres.

“He just doesn’t lose. I know he lost twice when he was immature, but now he’s mature, he’s just got that ability to win. He’s got amazing cruising speed and he’ll quicken off it, which is very hard to compete against.”

Ka Ying Rising is now clearly the best of 14 individual stakes winners for Windsor Park Stud stallion Shamexpress (NZ), who has six yearlings in the catalogue for Karkaa 2025. Windsor Park will themselves offer a colt in Book 1 as Lot 68, while Book 2 features another three Shamexpress colts along with two fillies.

Four of the other winners on Sunday’s Sha Tin card were graduates of the Karaka sale ring.

The HK$1.86m Sound Print Handicap (1400m) was won by Patch Of Cosmo (NZ) (Super Seth), who was a $70,000 purchase from Book 1 of Karaka 2023 before fetching $260,000 at the Ready to Run Sale later that year. Patch Of Cosmo has had nine starts for three wins, earning HK$2.67m (NZ$613,000). Patch Of Cosmo is by last season’s leading New Zealand first-season sire, Super Seth, who has 27 yearlings catalogued for Karaka 2025.

Mr Energia (NZ) (Swiss Ace) recorded the second win of his Hong Kong career in Sunday’s HK$1.17m Seasons Bloom Handicap (1400m). He has now earned HK$1.82m (NZ$417,000), having been passed in with a $75,000 reserve at the 2022 Ready to Run Sale.

Sunday’s HK$1.17m Beat The Clock Handicap (1200m) was won by Blazing Wind (Deep Field), who was passed in with a $250,000 reserve at the 2022 Ready to Run Sale. His eight-race career has produced a win, three placings and HK$1.35m (NZ$310,000).

The other winning Karaka graduate was Gold Master (The Autumn Sun), who took out the HK$1.17m Helene Paragon Handicap (1600m). It was the first win of a four-start career for Gold Master, who has earned HK$655,200 (NZ$150,000). He was a $240,000 purchase from the 2022 Ready to Run Sale.

Additional New Zealand flavour comes from Sunday’s HK$1.17m Waikuku Handicap (1400m) winner Forerunner, who was bred in the northern hemisphere but is a son of Cambridge Stud’s star stallion Almanzor. Yearlings by Almanzor have sold for up to $675,000 at Karaka, and the catalogues for Karaka 2025 feature 50 of his progeny.

NZB’s biggest week kicks off on Saturday with the $5m Karaka Millions twilight race meeting at Ellerslie, featuring the $1m TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) and the $1.5m TAB Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m).

Book 1 of Karaka 2025 runs from Sunday January 26 to Tuesday January 28 with selling starting at 10am each day. Book 2 will start at the later time of 12pm on Wednesday January 29 and concludes the following day on Thursday January 30 (10am start).