Hong Kong Season Wrap Up

by Dick Powell

The 2025-26 Hong Kong Racing season wraps up Wednesday, July 15 at Happy Valley, and you can bet every starting stall will be filled. As on the previous 87 race days, Hong Kong's field sizes are the envy of the racing world, averaging 12.50 starters per race — and with most races carrying an also-eligible list, that number would be higher still with more stalls.

The result is fiercely competitive racing. Every trainer and rider is here by invitation, licenses limited and coveted. Once you're in, the goal is to stay, so winning is paramount. With almost every race a handicap, winning means more weight — but there's no other way. If you're not moving forward, you're going backward.

This season was tough on favorites, only 29% winning so far, down from a healthy 33% a year ago. The average win price climbed to just over $19 from around $18, and field size rose from 12.21 to 12.50 starters per race.

Zac Purton was his indomitable self, holding a huge lead from September to July. As last year, he has more wins than the second- and third-place jockeys combined, with no end in sight. Amazingly, he rides like the lowest-ranked jockey in the room, and until that fire dies he'll stay on the perch.

The trainer race has been far tighter. Caspar Fownes surged when Joao Moreira returned, but his lead isn't safe. With three meetings left — two at Happy Valley, where he usually dominates — he's five wins clear of Danny Shum and six clear of Mark Newnham. It should be enough, but trainers often win in bunches, so nothing's settled.

After his undefeated 2024-25, much was expected of Ka Ying Rising, and he delivered and then some. He shipped to Australia to win the G1 Everest Stakes, then returned to rule an international field in December's G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint. A measure of his brilliance: all six domestic 1200m starts came in 1:07 and change, his lone 1400m run in 1:19.36. David Hayes has managed him perfectly and will point him Down Under again.

If Ka Ying Rising's season was expected, Romantic Warrior's was a surprise. His grueling prior campaign — trips to Saudi Arabia and Dubai — ended in ankle surgery, and at seven there was no guarantee he'd compete at all. Yet Danny Shum's team had him better than ever: he won all six starts and remains the all-time leading money earner.

His longevity shouldn't surprise anyone who studies his pedigree. Zenyatta, by Street Cry, won her first 19 starts before just missing in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at six. Winx, also by Street Cry, won her last 33, including 25 Group 1s. And Folk Memory, Romantic Warrior's dam, is likewise by Street Cry. Since May, he's been in light training and swimming at Conghua. We can only hope!

The 2026-27 season begins in September and runs through July, with four meetings at Conghua Racecourse on the mainland — exposing the sport to even more fans. Ka Ying Rising may race there in the G2 Jockey Club Sprint on Saturday, November 21.

Whatever happens, the coming season should top anything we've seen. As much fun as it is to look back, looking forward is even better — and September can't come soon enough, with more history waiting to be written.