KA YING RISING sets a sixth course record at Sha Tin last Sunday (6 September). Photo: Hong Kong Jockey Club

KA YING RISING (ShamExpress) has created history in the wake of his record-breaking performance in the Gr.3 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (6 September) by achieving the highest rating ever awarded to a sprinter and returning to outright number one in the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR).

Unbeaten in his past 21 starts, KA YING RISING rose to a new career peak mark of 135 – four points clear of Ombudsman (131) – when the latest interim rankings were released on Thursday, 10 September.

Undefeated since February 2024, Ka Ying Rising received the four-point rise after scorching to his sixth course record at Sha Tin, and a fifth over the 1200m turf course, with a blistering 1m 06.11s for a seven-and-three-quarter-length victory.

The ratings panel’s decision to elevate KA YING RISING to 135 saw him surpass the previous highest mark achieved by a sprinter – Australian champion Black Caviar (Bel Esprit), who was assessed at 132 after winning the 2011 Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) in record time. Black Caviar retired unbeaten after 25 starts.

 Trained by David Hayes and ridden by Zac Purton, KA YING RISING concluded 2025 rated 128 and, this year, elevated his mark to 130 in May, 131 in July and now 135.

KA YING RISING’s latest ranking is the joint-fourth highest mark ever given to a horse in the history of the LWBRR behind Frankel (Galileo), who scored 136 and 140 in 2011 and 2012, Flightline (Tapit) (140) and Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) (136).

It puts him on the same mark as Baaeed (Sea The Stars), Harbinger (Dansili) and Japan’s highest-ever rated horse Equinox (Kitasan Black) (135).

Nine-time Group One winner KA YING RISING, who travels to Sydney, Australia to defend his Gr.1 The Everest (1200m) crown next month, conceded 9kg to his opposition last weekend as he dominated from the front under top weight (61kg).

The superstar sprinter first broke Sacred Kingdom’s (Encosta De Lago) 1200m Sha Tin record of 1m 07.50s – which stood for 17 years – after clocking 1m 07.43s in the 2024 Gr.2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m).

The ShamExpress six-year-old then bettered his own record to 1m 07.20s in the 2025 Gr.1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) before lowering it twice more – 1m 07.12s in the 2026 Gr.2 Sprint Cup (1200m) before his 1m 07.10s in the 2026 Gr.1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), the previous best before last Sunday’s blitz.

His 1m 19.36s in the 2026 Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin is also a record. 

Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder), a four-time Group One winner, is second behind KA YING RISING in the latest LWBRR standings. Recently retired star three-year-old Bow Echo (Night Of Thunder) comes next on 127. Hong Kong’s 15-time Group One winner Romantic Warrior (Acclamation), French-trained four-year-old Daryz (Sea The Stars) and last-start Gr.1 International Stakes (2051m) hero Item (Frankel) both rate 126.

KA YING RISING has entered quarantine at Sha Tin and will travel to Sydney later this month for The Everest – the world’s richest turf race – at Royal Randwick on 17 October.