Zac Purton will ignore appeals to break Sha Tin’s 1200m track record for a fourth time, even though he says superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising continues to improve ahead of Sunday’s (26 April) HK$24 million G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).

Ka Ying Rising is poised for a second straight undefeated season as he works toward extending his record winning streak for a Hong Kong horse to 20 consecutive victories.

Purton rated the champion’s last-start victory in the G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) on 6 April as a career-best performance in difficult conditions when he lowered his own track record with a time of 1m 07.12s.

“He is fresh, looks good and he is ready to go on Sunday,” Purton said.

“He just pulls up like he has been out for a canter and recovers very quickly, and his aerobic capacity is what sets him apart from other horses.

“As you can see with his form on race day, he is just a very consistent horse and has run the 128 rating consistently since he has come back from (G1) The Everest (1200m) and then went to 130 last start.”

Purton said many horses remain at the level they reach early in their careers, but Ka Ying Rising is different.

“I have never ridden a horse that has continued to improve as much as he has throughout his career,” Purton said.

While Purton said he was instructed by trainer David Hayes to break the track record two starts ago in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), they won’t be chasing another record on Sunday.

“Last start, he just happened to break the track record because of the wind and the way the race was run,” Purton said. “You can’t break a track record unless it is set up for you.

“He seems to go very close to breaking the track record even when the race isn’t run at those fast sectionals.”

Purton said he gets 100 messages a week from people telling him to crack the elusive 1m 06s barrier, and, while he says Ka Ying Rising probably will one day, he won’t be chasing the mark on Sunday.

“I would like him to win without going right to the bottom of the barrel, then he can have a nice break without feeling that he is empty,” Purton said.

“If it is there to be done, I won’t disappoint him. I’ll let him do his thing.”

Ka Ying Rising will jump from barrier three for the first time in a 1200m race, but he jumped from gate three when he smashed the 1400m track record on 22 February.

Hayes said that in a small field of eight, a barrier closer to the rail is better. “With his tactical speed, if they go really fast, he’ll take a sit but if they go slow, he’ll probably lead.”

Hayes said he is taking it race by race with Ka Ying Rising, but he hinted that he could eventually look at racing the sprinter beyond 1400m.

“With his heart-lung capacity, he could run a mile (1600m) very easily,” Hayes said.

“But the sprint options here in Hong Kong and Australia are superb and maybe if he gets to his third season undefeated and the horse is healthy and well, we might be experimenting somewhere over a mile.”

The 11-race FWD Champions Day card on Sunday (26 April) at Sha Tin starts with the Class 4 FWD Insurance Act Private Handicap (1200m) at 12.30pm.

By Daryl Timms

Photo: HKJC