Hong Kong sensation Ka Ying Rising has been recognised as the world’s best sprinter, becoming the highest-rated Hong Kong horse in history (128) as he ranked joint-second in the 2025 LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR), while Romantic Warrior, ranked joint-seventh, has been listed among the world’s top 10 horses for a second year in a row.

David Hayes-trained Ka Ying Rising capped an extraordinary 2025, which saw him go the whole calendar year unbeaten on his way to victory in the AU$20 million (approx. HK$101 million) G1 The Everest (1200m) at Royal Randwick in Sydney, Australia before defending his HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) crown at Sha Tin, two of five Group 1 victories during the rating period – from January, 2025 until the end of December, 2025. Partnered by Hong Kong Champion Jockey Zac Purton for all but one of his eight 2025 victories, he was awarded a higher end-of-year rating than a host of Hong Kong racing legends, including Able Friend (127), Beauty Generation (127) and Golden Sixty (126).

Racing for the Ka Ying Syndicate, the New Zealand-bred speedster shared second place in the 2025 LONGINES WBRR rankings with Japanese duo Forever Young and Masquerade Ball, Britain’s Ombudsman and the United States of America’s Sovereignty, trailing only France’s Calandagan (130) at the top of the ratings.

Trained out of Francis-Henri Graffard’s Chantilly base, five-year-old gelding Calandagan enjoyed a phenomenal 2025 with Group 1 victories in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (2400m), King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2392m), Champion Stakes (1993m) and the Japan Cup (2400m), seeing the Irish-bred gelding rise from joint-fifth in the 2024 standings.

Romantic Warrior, the world’s highest-earning racehorse in history with record prize money of HK$240.11 million, won three times during an injury-hampered year, extending his HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m)-winning record with a fourth victory, as well as landing the G1 Jebel Hatta (1800m) at Meydan, UAE. His mark of 127, level with France’s Daryz and USA’s Sierra Leone, was the highest the eight-year-old has ever been assigned by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) panel. The rating makes Romantic Warrior the equal second highest-rated Hong Kong-trained horse in history, after Ka Ying Rising.

Career-high year-end ratings for Ka Ying Rising, Romantic Warrior and Hong Kong Triple Crown champion Voyage Bubble (121) are emblematic of a banner year for Hong Kong racing. Those three are among 10 Hong Kong-trained horses to achieve an international rating of 115 or higher on this year’s list, a performance that underscores the quality and depth of Hong Kong’s racing industry, which has only 1,350 thoroughbreds yet consistently produces elite performers recognised on the global stage.

Lucky Sweynesse (117), Beauty Joy, Red Lion and Helios Express (116), Galaxy Patch, Howdeepisyourlove and Straight Arron (115) round out the 10 Hong Kong-trained gallopers to achieve marks of 115 or higher in 2025.

Chief Executive Officer, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, said: “Hong Kong horses have once again performed at an extraordinary level on the international stage and the 2025 LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings reflect the strength, depth and quality of our elite horses. To have two Hong Kong-trained horses among the world’s top 10 is a remarkable achievement, particularly when it is considered that Hong Kong has approximately only 1,350 horses, representing well under one per cent of the world’s active thoroughbred population.

“Ka Ying Rising’s elevation to a career-high rating of 128 is a historic milestone for Hong Kong racing and establishes him as the highest-rated Hong Kong-trained horse in the history of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. His performances this season have been outstanding, and his recognition as the world’s best sprinter underlines the global strength of Hong Kong’s sprint programme.

“Romantic Warrior continues to be a tremendous standard-bearer for Hong Kong racing. His career-high mark of 127 further enhances his status as one of the world’s premier middle-distance horses, and his consistency at the highest level across multiple seasons is a testament to the dedication of his owner Peter Lau, trainer Danny Shum and all those involved in his care.”

World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races

Eleven of Hong Kong’s premier races have been included in the 2025 LONGINES World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races, up from eight in 2024, and six of Hong Kong’s elite races were rated among the top ten in their respective distance categories. All four Group 1 contests at December’s showpiece LONGINES Hong Kong International Races are ranked inside the World’s Top 100 Group 1 races for 2025.

The 2025 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, won by Romantic Warrior, returned a figure of 120.5 to rank 20th globally. Hong Kong secured three races in the top 40 with the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (26th, 120.0) and the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (35th, 119.0). The 2025 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint was rated the world’s seventh-best turf sprint contest.

Each accredited Group 1 race is ranked based on the average rating of the first four finishers from that year’s race, as determined by a panel of international handicappers. The ratings reflect the extraordinary quality of Hong Kong’s top races, which attract international competitors and consistently deliver world-class contests.

Hong Kong’s tally of 11 Group 1 races in the top 100 places it among the world’s leading racing jurisdictions alongside Australia, Great Britain, Japan, the USA and France.

In addition to their overall Top 100 rankings, a number of Hong Kong’s flagship races were also rated among the very best in their respective divisions for older horses on turf, further underlining Hong Kong’s standing across all major distance categories.

In the sprint division, the Chairman’s Sprint Prize was rated the second-highest turf sprint in the world, behind only Australia’s The Everest, while the Centenary Sprint Cup ranked third globally among turf sprint races for older horses.

The LONGINES Hong Kong Mile was rated seventh in the turf mile category, confirming its status as one of the world’s premier mile contests.

Over the intermediate distances, the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup ranked eight in the turf intermediate category for older horses, while the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase was rated the seventh-highest turf long-distance race in the world for older horses.

These rankings reinforce Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s leading racing jurisdictions across all major divisions, from sprinting through to staying events.

Executive Director, Racing, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Andrew Harding, said: “The 2025 LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings and World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races again highlight the outstanding quality of Hong Kong racing and its ability to compete with the very best in the world. The inclusion of 11 Hong Kong races in the Top 100 Group 1 ranking is a powerful endorsement of the international standard of our elite programme and the competitiveness of our major race meetings.

“Hong Kong’s premier races continue to attract world-class horses and deliver exceptional contests. These races showcase the depth of our racing and the strength of our domestic performers against elite international opposition.

“International competition remains a core priority for the Club and, alongside our world-class domestic racing, we are proud of what Hong Kong continues to deliver for racing fans both locally and globally.”

LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings 2025

Hong Kong Trained Horses in World Rankings since 1998

World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races