Hong Kong Internationals a lifetime highlight as Kiwis assert themselves
Dennis Ryan - Raceform • December 18th, 2025 3:50 PM
From the time they landed in Hong Kong midway through last week, Marton couple Fraser and Erin Auret knew they were in for the experience of a lifetime.
Central to their first visit to the Chinese commercial hub was Ka Ying Rising, the horse they had bred then developed before selling him to clients of Hong Kong-based trainer David Hayes.
Three years later the son of Shamexpress and the Auret-trained Missy Moo had established himself as the world’s highest-rated sprinter, dominating Hong Kong ranks and taking that form to Sydney for victory in The Everest.
All the while the Aurets had not set eyes directly on the horse their children had pre-emptively nicknamed Rocket as a foal, resisting the temptation to travel to Sydney for his Everest bid in October in favour of Hong Kong for last weekend’s attempt at a 16th straight win in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint.
By the time they boarded their flight home on Monday afternoon, they were over-awed not only in full realisation of just how good Ka Ying Rising is, but also that New Zealand-bred horses should fill the next three placings behind him along with three other NZ-bred winners.
The bonus was witnessing another resident world-class galloper Romantic Warrior winning the Hong Kong Cup in the hands of Kiwi-born James McDonald, just days after being awarded his third World’s Best Jockey title.
“Everywhere we went we realised just how much racing means in Hong Kong,” Fraser Auret told RaceForm the day after that momentous day out. “And to think the horse we bred was right up there as one of their stars was mind-blowing.
“At the Happy Valley meeting last Wednesday night we got some idea of how connected the fans are with their top horses. Everywhere they were clamouring to get their hands on merchandise, at the races, everywhere we went, and there we were saying to each other ‘Is this really happening?’ It was quite surreal to see what Ka Ying Rising meant to them.”
The Aurets’ first mission on arriving in Hong Kong was to connect with David Hayes for the chance to reacquaint themselves with Ka Ying Rising.
“It might be wishful thinking, but when Erin and I went into his box, and even though it had been a long time since we had last set eyes on him, he was warm and welcoming.
“We’d like to think there was some familiarity, but what really struck us was how he had developed. When he left us he was a boy, three years later he’s a man!”
That was never more obvious than when Ka Ying Rising stepped onto the track on Sunday as the unbackable favourite and he proceeded to prove his superiority yet again with another unchallenged win. Making up the support cast for an all-Kiwi finish were Per Incanto six-year-old Raging Blizzard, Wrote five-year-old Fast Network, and right alongside him in fourth place, Sweynesse’s former champion sprinter son Lucky Sweynesse, now seven years old but still not lacking determination.
Ka Ying Rising’s record now stands at 17 wins and two second placings from 19 starts and perhaps more importantly, equal with former star Hong Kong galloper Golden Sixty on 16 consecutive wins, just one short of the record set by Silent Witness in 2005.
“That was the absolute highlight, seeing him win like that, he’s just so much better than them,” Auret says. “It was a quite different experience to all his other wins that we’ve watched from home with our kids; this time there were definitely butterflies but once he was underway it was an easy watch.
“The reception that we were able to be part of afterwards, to be out on the track with his entourage, was all part of the experience. To be welcomed by David Hayes and his wife along with everyone else involved with the horse was very humbling and once it was all over we were able to relax and soak up the occasion.”
Sha Tin on Sunday included a treble to McDonald, headed by the world’s highest stake-earning thoroughbred Romantic Warrior as he took his record to 20 wins from 27 starts with a record fourth consecutive Hong Kong Cup.
McDonald also partnered Prestige Good, a Sacred Falls gelding in his second Hong Kong win and the third NZ-bred winner on the support programme. The first of those was Darci Brahma gelding Rising Phoenix registering his first win in nine starts, followed by Cool Boy who stepped up from a debut third to jump from the outside gate and easily win his 1200m race.
Cool Boy was the only starter on the prestigious programme for Jamie Richards, who had bid $220,000 to secure him at the 2024 National Yearling Sale. Richards was no doubt attracted to the son of highly successful Hong Kong producer Per Incanto given he was a half-brother to Brando, who he had trained during his tenure at Te Akau Racing to win up to stakes level and place twice at Group One.
Sunday’s well-timed victory took Richards to nine wins from 111 starters after three months of the current season, and to three wins short of his first century since arriving in Hong Kong in 2023.
Reflecting on his Hong Kong experience, Auret made a familiar observation that cut across the full input by those connected to New Zealand on Sha Tin’s biggest annual raceday.
“It really opens your eyes to just how good our horses and our people are in racing’s most competitive environments. It blows my mind that year on year New Zealand punches above its weight around the world.
“For us as a family with our connection to Ka Ying Rising, it’s been a heck of ride over the past three years and this has been the icing on the cake, the absolute highlight.
“Our bags are bulging with Ka Ying merchandise, but the kids would never forgive us if we didn’t bring some home with us, so we made sure we got plenty for everyone!”
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