The leading sprinter is such a standout that his trainer says 1-5 is worth a bet. The top mile race is a showdown between a red-hot Australian and a local star, while the richest race on the program, at 1 1/4 miles, could be won by several runners who last started in four countries. The three Group 1 races at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Sunday offer an array of talent, though none have been as dominant as Ka Ying Rising, who is widely expected to win his 12th consecutive start in the $2.83 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize at six furlongs. The first of the three major races on a 10-race program, the Chairman’s Sprint Prize drew 13, including the recent Group 1 winners Invincible Sage, Lugal, Lucky Sweynesse, Satono Reve, and Victor The Winner. :: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming They would all need career-best performances to challenge Ka Ying Rising, a 4-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding rated as the world’s top sprinter. Ka Ying Rising’s winning streak began in February 2024. He ended that season with a win against an international field in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin and has won three starts this year in Group 1 and Group 2 races. Ka Ying Rising has often raced as a stalker, but can lead. He set a Sha Tin course record of 1:07.20 for six furlongs with a victory by 3 1/4 lengths in the Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup in January by leading throughout. Trainer David Hayes told Hong Kong publicity on Thursday that race tactics will be left to jockey Zac Purton, Hong Kong’s leading rider. “If he flies the start, he might lead and take it up,” Hayes said of Ka Ying Rising. “If he jumps with them, he’ll probably box seat behind some obvious pace, but that’s really Zac Purton’s problem now and he’ll have it worked out. He gets it done on the big day, so I’m not worried at all.” Acknowledging that Ka Ying Rising will be a very short price, Hayes said if the gelding is 1-5, “then back him.” Queen Elizabeth II Cup Finding the winner of the $3.6 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles may be more difficult. Arguments can be made on behalf of Goliath, winner of the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in Britain last year, who has not raced since a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Japan Cup last November; and Liberty Island and Tastiera, Grade 1 winners in Japan who were second and third in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin in December. Liberty Island, the lone filly in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, was eighth by 3 3/4 lengths behind Soul Rush in the Group 1 Dubai Turf at 1 1/8 miles in the United Arab Emirates on April 5. Romantic Warrior, second in that race, won the 2024 Queen Elizabeth II Cup as part of a Horse of the Year campaign in Hong Kong, but is not part of this year’s field after finishing second by a nose in the Dubai Turf. The Japanese veteran Prognosis is due for a breakthrough win in an international Group 1 win. He was second to Romantic Warrior in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 2023 and again last year, and second to the Australian star mare Via Sistina in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne last October. A closer, Prognosis was sixth in the Grade 2 Kinko Sho at 1 1/4 miles at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan on March 16 in his 2025 debut. The New Zealand star El Vencedor, the winner of three Group 1 races this year, will face a stern class test. Champions Mile The $3.09 million Champions Mile is the first start in the Far East for Mr Brightside, who was fourth in the Cox Plate and has since finished first or second in four Group 1 races in Australia. A winner of 19 of 43 career starts, including nine Group 1 races, Mr Brightside was second by a nose to Tom Kitten in the $1.58 million All-Star Mile at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on March 8. Mr Brightside, who tends to run near the front, is part of a field of 13 in the Champions Mile that includes the local star Voyage Bubble and another Australian-based contender in Royal Patronage. Voyage Bubble was third in the 2024 Champions Mile and has won his last four starts since November, including the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile against an international field in December. Royal Patronage was a game second of 20 in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, on April 5. Royal Patronage is quick enough to lead as he showed with a victory in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs in Australia in March. First post time is 12:45 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 9:45 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.