The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has hailed the 2025/26 season-opening meeting at Sha Tin on Sunday (7 September) as “the perfect start of the season” with the victory of Ka Ying Rising in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m).
By Leo Schlink
Zac Purton has declared Ka Ying Rising’s outstanding win in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (7 September) the equal-best of the champion sprinter’s stunning career.
Extending his unbeaten streak to 13 wins, Ka Ying Rising brushed aside quality opposition under 135lb to triumph in 1m 07.63s – marginally outside his own track record of 1m 07.20s – despite being eased down by Purton as the gelding swept to his 14th win in 16 starts for David Hayes.
By Leo Schlink
Zac Purton believes Ka Ying Rising is stronger and more mature as the world’s highest-rated sprinter bids for a 13th consecutive win when he resumes in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (7 September).
Attempting to become the first horse to win the opening-day feature twice, Ka Ying Rising will use the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup as a launch pad to the AU$20 million (approx. HK$100.34 million) G1 The Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick on 18 October.
Whirl might not be the best 3-year-old filly currently trained by Aidan O’Brien, but she’s the star of the Sunday card at Longchamp.
The annual preview program for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe includes three Arc preps: The Group 2 Prix Foy for older horses, the Group 2 Prix Niel for 3-year-olds, and the Group 1 Prix Vermeille, for fillies and mares. Whirl is set to face five foes in the 1 1/2-mile Vermeille, for which she was an odds-on favorite with British bookmakers as of Friday.
By Declan Schuster
Francis Lui and Manfred Man will have eyes on Hong Kong and South Korea this Sunday (7 September) when both trainers seek their first overseas wins as the 2025/26 racing season gets underway at Sha Tin.
Hong Kong Champion Trainer in 2023/24, Lui saddles Copartner Prance (115lb) and Divano (115lb) in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) in Hong Kong, while Chancheng Glory represents the stable in Seoul’s G3 Korea Cup (1800m, sand).
By Leo Schlink
Fresh from an impromptu riding cameo in Great Britain, Harry Bentley hopes to spark a successful start to the 2025/26 Hong Kong season when he partners Victor The Winner in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (7 September).
Pitted against fellow Group 1 winners Ka Ying Rising and Lucky Sweynesse, G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m) winner Victor The Winner will jump from barrier eight for Bentley and trainer David Eustace, having won the 2023 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup for Danny Shum and Karis Teetan.
By Leo Schlink
Ka Ying Rising this morning effortlessly completed fast-work preparations for the HK$3.72 million Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (7 September), when the world’s highest-rated sprinter bids to extend his winning streak to 13 straight races.
Partnered by regular rider Zac Purton, Hong Kong’s reigning Horse Of The Year sauntered down the back straight on Sha Tin’s dirt track before upping the tempo over the final 400m, clocking 24.1s and pleasing trainer David Hayes.
Karis Teetan is relishing the challenge as he prepares for another campaign in Hong Kong when the 2025/26 racing season kicks off this Sunday (7 September) at Sha Tin.
Teetan, 35, has amassed a remarkable 733 Hong Kong wins across his career in the city, the second most of any rider on the current roster behind Zac Purton (1,878). The Mauritian returns hoping to build on his 44 wins netted in 2024/25 and, while lower in comparison to his regular highs, he is not one to dwell.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (the Club) will launch the 2025/2026 racing season on 7 September with a game-changing racecourse arrival and customer experience at Grandstand II, Sha Tin Racecourse. Champions Connection will connect arriving visitors with an immersive digital environment inspired by horse and nature, while Gensō Eki will provide digital horse racing experiences in an immersive dining and digital entertainment venue. Both will further promote horse racing and the racecourse as a must-go experience for both locals and tourists, particularly the younger generation.
