The fascinating aspect of Ka Ying Rising’s 12th consecutive win in Sunday’s Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong is that he may have room for improvement. “He’s getting better and better,” winning jockey Zac Purton said. Ka Ying Rising won his fourth Group 1, all since December, in the $2.83 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize at six furlongs, the top sprint race in Hong Kong in the first half of the year. Purton had Ka Ying Rising in fifth place in a field of 13 on the turn before moving closer to the front in early stretch. Very quickly, Ka Ying Rising took the lead with more than a furlong remaining and won by an easy 2 1/4 lengths over 14-1 Satono Reve, the winner of the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in Japan on March 30. Ka Ying Rising, who paid a mere $2.10, won despite not switching leads in the stretch, Purton said. “Every time you come out here, he produces something special and he did that again,” Purton told Hong Kong publicity. “He didn’t even change his leg. “The race panned out really well. He began well and I was able to just pop him into a lovely spot with the way the race was unfolding. I just kept it uncomplicated and let him do his thing.” With the win, Ka Ying Rising swept Hong Kong’s three Group 1 sprints this calendar year, including the Centenary Sprint Cup at six furlongs in January and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at seven furlongs in February. For the sweep, Ka Ying Rising earned a bonus of $644,000 for the ownership group – the Ka Ying Syndicate. Trained by David Hayes, Ka Ying Rising, a New Zealand-bred gelding by Shamexpress, has won 13 of 15 starts. Ka Ying Rising will be pointed to the $12.7 million Everest Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 18, Hayes said. The Everest Stakes is the world’s richest sprint. :: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming Compared to Ka Ying Rising’s win, the result of the Group 1 Champions Mile two races later was a shock. Red Lion ($181.60) ended a 10-race losing streak since February 2024 with a narrow win over 3-5 favorite Voyage Bubble, who was third in the 2024 Champions Mile. Red Lion was second in the 2024 Champions Mile. On Sunday, Red Lion, ridden by Hugh Bowman, was the third-longest shot in a field of 13. He set the pace and was fully extended to hold off Voyage Bubble by a nose. The result was confirmed after the stewards reviewed video of the stretch run, focusing on contact between the first two finishers. Sunlight Power (59-1) finished a surprising third, while the Australian Group 1 winner Mr Brightside finished last after fading in the stretch. Red Lion, a 6-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Belardo, has won 6 of 29 starts in a career that began in Ireland in 2021. Trained by John Size, Red Lion was transferred to Hong Kong in summer 2022. The Champions Mile was Red Lion’s fifth start of the year. He was third behind Voyage Bubble in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup at a mile at Sha Tin in January, his best result of 2025 before Sunday. In the day’s richest race, Tastiera, winner of the Grade 1 Japanese Derby in 2023, won for the first time outside of Japan in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles. Ridden by Damian Lane, Tastiera ($7.50) was always near the front in a field of 11, took the lead with less than a quarter-mile remaining and won by 1 3/4 lengths over 5-2 favorite Prognosis. Calif (48-1) raced in traffic with three furlongs remaining and recovered to finish third by two lengths. Tastiera, a 5-year-old Japanese-bred by Satono Crown, is trained by Noriyuki Hori, who starts Luxor Café in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The $3.6 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup was Tastiera’s first start since a third-place finish behind Romantic Warrior in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin in December. Romantic Warrior, the Hong Kong Horse of the Year for the 2023-2024 season, was a notable absentee from the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, a race he won three times from 2022-2024. Romantic Warrior was second by a nose in the Group 1 Dubai Turf in the United Arab Emirates on April 5. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.