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SATONO REVE \/ G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen \/\/ Chukyo Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Grant Courtney<\/p>\nKa Ying Rising is scaring off rivals left and right, so much so that Satono Reve\u2019s trainer Noriyuki Hori is in two minds about taking up the latest invitation to challenge the world\u2019s best sprinter in the G1 Chairman\u2019s Sprint Prize at the end of April.<\/p>\n
Hori knows all about winning in Hong Kong: his mighty champion Maurice won there three times, and he has also scored major victories at Sha Tin with Neorealism, Satono Crown and Tastiera.<\/p>\n
Maurice even defeated the brilliant Hong Kong champion of the time, Able Friend, when winning the G1 Hong Kong Mile 10 years ago, but Hori knows this would be a different task altogether.<\/p>\n
\u201cKa Ying Rising is an extremely strong horse and having raced against him several times now, I have the impression that he is truly out of reach,\u201d Hori said in the immediate aftermath of Satono Reve\u2019s victory in Sunday\u2019s G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo.<\/p>\n
Hori\u2019s words were those of a pragmatist, a meticulous planner who knows his own star would again have his work cut out against the horse that last October took his Hong Kong form into the deep hotbed of Australian sprinters and carried off the G1 The Everest, the world\u2019s richest sprint race.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The David Hayes-trained Ka Ying Rising is now on an 18-race winning streak \u2013 one more than the great Silent Witness\u2019s old record \u2013 and has defeated Satono Reve three times already, including when the latter was two and a quarter lengths second in last year\u2019s Chairman\u2019s Sprint Prize. In their most recent meeting, the Japanese horse was a below-par ninth, more than eight lengths behind, in December\u2019s G1 Hong Kong Sprint.<\/p>\n
SATONO REVE \/ G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen \/\/ Chukyo Racecourse \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by Grant Courtney<\/p>\n
Satono Reve\u2019s Takamatsunomiya Kinen win confirmed his status as Japan\u2019s best sprinter \u2013 his second in last June\u2019s G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot stacks up well, too \u2013 but that still leaves him short of the imperious Ka Ying Rising.<\/p>\n
Yet, with no Group 1 sprint in Japan until the G1 Sprinters Stakes in October, the Chairman\u2019s Sprint Prize is again the obvious next race. If the seven-year-old does go for a fourth crack at Ka Ying Rising, Hori will take on the task with his sense of realism intact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have received an invitation for the Chairman\u2019s Sprint Prize,\u201d the trainer said. \u201cNowadays, various priorities are assigned based on the order of early invitation, so while we would normally accept after checking the horse\u2019s condition after the race, we have already accepted due to those circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, I want to carefully assess the horse\u2019s condition after this and make a final decision on whether or not to go,\u201d he added, noting that the horse had lost his near-hind shoe during the race. \u201cIt will depend on the horse\u2019s condition and consultation with the owner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should Satono Reve\u2019s connections choose to duck out of the Ka Ying Rising clash, they would not be alone.<\/p>\n
Ka Ying Rising is seen as nigh on unbeatable at Sha Tin: his predecessor as Hong Kong\u2019s Champion Sprinter Lucky Sweynesse is going down the mile route to avoid him, and so too is Fast Network who in any other era would be seen as a rising star in the sprint ranks \u2013 Ka Ying Rising\u2019s rider Zac Purton is locked in for the latter.<\/p>\n
Satono Reve\u2019s second victory in as many years in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen emphasised again the strength of Ka Ying Rising\u2019s form. The seven-year-old is no mug, he is a top line Group 1 sprinter, and his rider last Sunday, Christophe Lemaire, noted as much, describing his mount as \u201ca muscle car \u2026 He is like a Ford Mustang GT, he has that much power.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, sticking with the fast car analogy, as powerful, fast and impressive as a Mustang GT might be, it would not match a Ferrari SF90 for speed and power. As Hori might say, the Ferrari would be out of reach. \u220e<\/p>\n
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Michael Cox<\/p>\n
From Cairns To Ka Ying Rising: Hong Kong Racing\u2019s New Cult Hero, Tomodachi Kokoroe<\/p>\n
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