Ka Ying Rising has redefined sprint excellence in Hong Kong in recent years. Ka Ying Rising, who will start as a massive favorite in Sunday’s Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin Racecourse, has won 19 consecutive races since February 2024, a record for a Hong Kong-based runner, and has lowered the six-furlong course record three times in the last 18 months. Ka Ying Rising claimed the record by winning the Group 2 Jockey Club Sprint in 1:07.43 in November 2024. He lowered the mark to 1:07.20 with a win in the Group 1 Centenary Cup in January 2025, and went even quicker, in 1:07.12, with a win by 4 1/4 lengths in the Group 2 Sprint Cup on April 6. :: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming Expect odds of about 1-20 in the $3.06 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize, Ka Ying Rising’s starting price in his last eight starts in Hong Kong. Last year, Ka Ying Rising won the Chairman’s Sprint Prize by 2 1/4 lengths over the Japanese shipper Satono Reve, who is again part of the field on Sunday. Satono Reve, Japan’s champion sprinter of 2025, has faced Ka Ying Rising three times since late 2024, including a ninth-place finish in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in December. Satono Reve has since rebounded to win the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at six furlongs by two lengths on March 29 at Chukyo Racecourse, Japan’s leading sprint in the first half of the year. Even that sharp performance is unlikely to be enough to dethrone Ka Ying Rising, a 5-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding by Shamexpress who is trained by David Hayes for the Ka Ying Syndicate. A winner of 20 of 22 starts, Ka Ying Rising will be ridden by regular rider Zac Purton, who is expected to have the gelding in a forward position from post 3 in a field of eight. Satono Reve, who will be ridden by Joao Moreira, drew the outside post. Ka Ying Rising is not the only local runner expected to dominate a Group 1 on Sunday. Romantic Warrior will be an odds-on favorite to win the $3.8 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles for an unprecedented fourth time. Romantic Warrior won the race from 2022-24, but did not start last year after finishing second by a nose in the Dubai Turf in the United Arab Emirates in early April. An 8-year-old Irish-bred gelding, Romantic Warrior is unbeaten in four starts at Sha Tin since late November, including three consecutive Group 1 races – the Hong Kong Cup at 1 1/4 miles in December, Stewards’ Cup at a mile in January, and Hong Kong Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on March 1. The Australian star jockey James McDonald is Romantic Warrior’s regular rider and has the mount Sunday. Romantic Warrior starts from post 5 in a field of eight and faces three notable imports in Masquerade Ball from Japan, Royal Champion from Britain, and Sosie from France. Masquerade Ball had an excellent fall campaign last year, winning the Grade 1 autumn running of the Tenno Sho at Tokyo Racecourse four weeks before he finished second by a head in the Grade 1 Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles on the same course. Royal Champion won the Group 1 Neom Turf Cup at 1 5/16 miles at Saudi Arabia in February in his only start this year. Sosie won the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at 1 1/2 miles at Sha Tin last December in his last start. He was third in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris last October. The two-time Japanese champion Jantar Mantar will be a slight favorite to win his fifth race at the highest level in the $3.08 million Champions Mile. Jantar Mantar, the outstanding 2-year-old male of 2023 and 2025 outstanding miler in Japan, has not raced since he won for the sixth time in his 10th start in the Grade 1 Mile Championship at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan in November. Jantar Mantar has been effective following a layoff in the past. He won his first start of 2025 in the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at a mile last June. The Champions Mile is Jantar Mantar’s second start in Hong Kong. He finished 13th of 14 in the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile in 2024 after a wide trip. Jantar Mantar was found to have lost a shoe in that race. The Champions Mile drew a field of 14, with two runners on the also-eligible list. The Hong Kong-based geldings Lucky Sweynesse and My Wish, first and second in the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy at a mile on April 6, have vital course experience. Lucky Sweynesse was the champion sprinter for the 2022-23 season in Hong Kong. His win in the Chairman’s Trophy ended an eight-race losing streak since the Group 2 Sprint Cup in April 2024. My Wish was fourth by a length in the 2025 Champions Mile. He later won two minor handicaps last September and October at Sha Tin, but is winless in his last five starts. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.