Latest news with #LaForza
South China Morning Post
30-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
‘Foolproof' Ka Ying Rising makes it 11 straight with Sprint Cup rout
Ka Ying Rising is one win away from a perfect season after coasting to victory in Sunday's Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin. Sent off the shortest price of his career at $1.05, Ka Ying Rising tracked leader California Spangle in the run before powering to his 11th win on the bounce and seventh success of the campaign. 'He runs those times with ease,' said trainer David Hayes after Ka Ying Rising stopped the clock at 1:08.18 – about a length inside standard but well short of his own track record of 1:07.2. 'He's just got this group of horses covered and I knew he was in peak form. 'The way he looks and the way he's behaving, he is improving his manners – clearly his ability has been there the whole time. UNSTOPPABLE! 🤯 11 straight wins for world's best sprinter Ka Ying Rising as David Hayes' star is an emphatic G2 Sprint Cup winner at Sha Tin... @zpurton #LoveRacing | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 30, 2025 'He's developing into a more foolproof horse. Today he took the sit. He doesn't have to lead – he's all right with a sit and he's all right leading, so he's a beauty.' Back in the saddle for the first time since fracturing his toe in a race fall on February 9, jockey Zac Purton let Ka Ying Rising go upon straightening before easing him to a three-length victory over Helios Express, who ran second to the sprint sensation for the fourth time running. 'It's nice to come back and ride a horse like him. He's a pleasure to do anything with, he's really relaxed going to the gates and behind the gates now. He just does everything you want him to do,' said Purton, who finished the afternoon with a treble after also saluting aboard La Forza for Jamie Richards and Another World for Benno Yung Tin-pang. 'The leader today didn't go as fast as I was hoping he would go. I travelled a bit stronger than I would have liked and with the extra weight on his back, I didn't want to sit around and wait for the others, so I sent him for home early and he just let him do what he does. 'He was always cruising and he didn't give us a moment of worry and that's the good thing about him.' Ka Ying Rising will chase a fourth Group One win in the Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) on April 27, while he can also complete a sweep of the Hong Kong Speed Series after victories in the Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) and Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m). 'Even Zac's starting to acknowledge the horse's ability now. He took a while but he's really starting to say that he's quite special, which he really is,' said Hayes. 'This was a stepping-stone race, where he had to give five pounds, and the next one is set weights and it's his grand final. 'There's a HK$5 million bonus for the [Speed Series] and, of course, it's an international sprint. 'It's what he's been set for the whole year and if he achieves it, it's the perfect season. Eight wins – not many horses have done that. 'He'll have an easy trial 10 days out from the race. Whether we have it at Conghua or Sha Tin will be decided, but he will certainly go up to Conghua and enjoy the facilities. He just recovers between runs so well.' Ka Ying Rising would draw level with Lucky Sweynesse and Beauty Generation on a record eight wins in a season should he snare the Chairman's Sprint Prize, where he is likely to face a rematch with Japanese speedster Satono Reve after that galloper, who finished third in December's Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m), took out Sunday's Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) under Joao Moreira at Chukyo.
South China Morning Post
09-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
La Forza dominates a day after dumping rider, while Golden Sixty lands in Japan
Jamie Richards-trained speedster overcomes a trackwork mishap to return to the winners' list in style at Sha Tin on Sunday by Jay RooneySam Agars on Sunday, February 9, 2025 8:21 PM Zac Purton spears La Forza to victory at Sha Tin on Sunday. Photo: Kenneth Chan It wasn't your typical preparation but La Forza showed no ill effects of a little Saturday trackwork mishap when storming back onto the winners' list at Sha Tin on Sunday. After shying at something near the big screen while working on Saturday morning, La Forza dislodged his rider and galloped riderless for two laps of the small all-weather track. 'It was just unfortunate that he shied basically at the TV screen. But he didn't go too fast when he did a little quiet lap without the rider on and thankfully everything's gone nice and smoothly for him today,' said trainer Jamie Richards after La Forza strode to victory in the Class Four TVB Yan Chai Charity Show Handicap (1,000m). Racing for the first time since May last year after suffering from shin soreness following one win from three runs in Griffin company in his debut season, La Forza pinged out of gate seven and was quickly speared over to the outside rail by Zac Purton. After comfortably controlling proceedings from the front, La Forza dashed clear of $2.6 favourite Enjoy Golf inside the final 200m to post a two-and-a-half-length success at $7.35. 'He's a horse who was very immature last season and we backed off him. We thought we had him ready to go earlier in the season and we just had to back off him again because he was just a little bit shin sore,' said Richards. 'He was very weak last season but he's put on a lot of weight and strengthened up. I've got a good team of staff and the Conghua stable must take a bit of credit for this horse because he's spent most of his time up there. 'He's only a three-year-old but I'm hoping that he's got more ratings points in hand.' Race five delivered a far less pleasing outcome for Richards and Purton, with debutant Autumn Vibes rearing as the gates opened before running on strongly from the back of the field to finish third as the $1.9 favourite. Purton did go onto complete a double, saluting aboard Light Years Charm for David Eustace before his afternoon in the saddle ended when he fell from Silvery Breeze for the same trainer two races later. Lyle Hewitson also enjoyed a brace thanks to victories aboard Special Hedge and Gallant Epoch in the opening two races. — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) February 9, 2025 Sixty's snowy welcome Champion Hong Kong galloper Golden Sixty has finally made it to Japan, with the 10-time Group One winner greeted by snow on his arrival at Northern Horse Park in Hokkaido. Last seen on a racetrack in April last year, Golden Sixty was officially retired in September before having to quarantine in Australia en route to Japan, where owner Stanley Chan Ka-leung, trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai and jockey Vincent Ho Chak-yiu are planning to visit him regularly. Brightside begins path to HK Mr Brightside started his path towards a likely trip to Hong Kong with a close defeat in Saturday's Group One CF Orr Stakes (1,400m), while there was a successful Hong Kong flavour to one of the support features at the big Caulfield meeting. Trained by David Hayes' sons Ben, Will and JD, Mr Brightside fell narrowly short of a ninth elite-level success when he was chased down late by Another Wil first up. While the Bullbars gelding has often been considered for trips to Hong Kong but never made it to the city, the Hayes boys have indicated the Group One Champions Mile in April is firmly on the radar for their stable star. The training partnership claimed a maiden international Group One success earlier on Saturday when Here To Shock recorded a dominant victory in the BCD Group Sprint (1,400m) in New Zealand. 'Hopefully we can add another one with Brightside in Hong Kong eventually,' JD Hayes told Australia's Channel 7. Angel Capital, raced by Hong Kong-based Upper Bloodstock, shot to favouritism for the Group One Australian Guineas (1,600m) with a first-up win in the Group Two Autumn Stakes (1,400m) at Caulfield. The Harry Angel colt notched his fourth win from seven starts with a powerful return, scoring by a length and a half under jockey Ben Melham. 'He'll go straight to the [Australian] Guineas, I'd say, and then if he ran well there, we'd go to the All-Star Mile,' trainer Clinton McDonald said. 'Then we'd pull up stumps and get him ready for the spring.' Elsewhere, Zac Purton's bid for more Australian Group One glory was scuppered when Isthmus was withdrawn from Saturday's Lightning Stakes (1,000m) at Flemington with a throat issue. The champion Hong Kong jockey was booked for the ride by co-trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman, but Isthmus was found to have an epiglottic entrapment after a Flemington jumpout on Friday.
