Ka Ying Rising extends win streak, tops world rankings at 130

Ka Ying Rising did more than hold the No. 1 spot in the latest Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. He pushed the bar higher, rising to 130 and leaving the rest of the sport to chase a sprint benchmark that now looks increasingly hard to touch.

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ third 2026 update covered races run from January 1 through May 10, and the Hong Kong star remained the clear leader after improving from 128 in the previous release. His latest jump came on the back of victories in the Sprint Cup (G2) and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (G1), the latter run at Sha Tin on April 26 and won in track-record time of 1:07.10. That result extended his winning streak to 20 straight and gave him a ninth Group 1 success, a résumé that now separates him from the pack as much as the number beside his name.

That gap matters because the chase group is crowded, but still clearly behind. Romantic Warrior, Bow Echo and Daryz are tied at 126, with Bow Echo earning top-rated 3-year-old honors after beating Gstaad in the Two Thousand Guineas and Daryz advancing after his Prix Ganay victory. The rankings show quality waiting just below the summit, but none of those horses has yet forced Ka Ying Rising to share the stage.

The American older-horse picture is strong, just not strong enough to threaten the top line. White Abarrio, who beat Sovereignty and Journalism in the Oaklawn Handicap, is the leading U.S. runner at 124 and shares fifth with Opera Ballo. Magnitude and Sovereignty sit at 122, Nysos is on 121, and Knightsbridge and Rhetorical are among the horses on 119. That depth says plenty about the domestic division; it also underscores how far the world’s top sprint figure has pulled away.

Ka Ying Rising’s profile only sharpens the case. Racing Post lists the 5-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding by Shamexpress out of Missy Moo, owned by the Ka Ying Syndicate, with 21 wins from 23 starts and earnings of more than £14.5 million. For now, the global pecking order still runs through Hong Kong, and Ka Ying Rising is not merely leading it. He is widening the margin.