New Zealand breeder Travels to Hong kong to Witness star Sprinter Ka Ying Rising’s Potential History
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A New Zealand breeder, Fraser Auret, recently made a special trip to Hong Kong to observe Ka Ying Rising, the world’s top-ranked sprinter, as he prepares for a possibly record-breaking run in the Hong Kong Sprint on December 14th. The horse, a product of auret and his wife erin’s Grandmoral Lodge Racing near Marton, New Zealand, has captivated the racing world with his exceptional speed and consistency.
From Rural New Zealand to Global Stage
Auret and his wife bred Ka Ying Rising and initially nurtured the colt before he caught the attention of agent Mike Morais at a jumpout in Levin. Morais secured the purchase on behalf of the Hayes family’s Lindsay Park operation. Following a trial at Moe, Australia, in mid-2023, the horse transitioned to the Hong Kong stable of David Hayes.
“We’ve come on our own back,” Auret explained. “We’d always planned to come and see him at some stage before, but we run quite a busy stable, so it was about working out logistics for when we coudl get away. We decided it was either head to Australia for The Everest or come here. We’d never been to Hong kong before and we thought it would be fantastic to come and see him here.”
A Champion’s Pedigree and Potential
Ka Ying Rising‘s reputation soared after winning The Everest (G1) at Randwick Racecourse in October, solidifying his position as the world’s premier sprinter. A victory in the Hong Kong Sprint would further cement his legacy.
“He’s got a half brother here too,” Auret revealed. “The other one, his younger half brother Ka Ying Glory, is also here. He’s racing on Sunday too,but he needs to talk to his older brother about how to run as he hasn’t quite worked that part out yet! we sadly lost the mare and we wanted to get some connection to the family so we went looking for a sister or a relative,but,would you beleive,the mother had about nine brothers and no sisters. So unfortunately it’s the end of the line.”
Surprise and Delight in a Champion’s Growth
Ka Ying Rising,now five years old and having earned nearly $13 million in prize money,is a son of the Group 1-winning sprinter Shamexpress. Auret expressed a degree of surprise at the horse’s conversion into a world-class sprinter, given his early development.
“It’s just been marvelous watching him develop,” Auret noted. “The mare was more of a mile-and-a-quarter horse. She wasn’t a sprinter, but she was a good-quality horse. He’s certainly furnished an awful amount more. He wasn’t really a sprinter-looking type, he was a bit weak and big and gangly, but you could see even on the TV that each season he was that little bit bigger and stronger, and now to the point where he’s a fully mature horse.”
Auret, who manages a stable of around 50 horses, is balancing his commitment to his New Zealand operation with the excitement of witnessing Ka ying Rising‘s potential triumph in Hong Kong. The success of Ka Ying Rising has already spurred an expansion of their breeding program.
“Selling horses has always been a very big part of our model,” Auret said.”With racing in New Zealand, it’s almost like a part of the culture that you need to sell horses to survive. Even through selling him, we’ve made some wonderful contacts. Unfortunately, he’s now got us a bit roped in and we’ve got about six mares now, having started with just the one. I’ll probably spend the next 30 years trying to breed another one and not be able to! But it’s beautiful watching them grow and develop as foals; we’ve really enjoyed it.”
