Sunday sees Cityscape’s hugely consistent son Ka Ying Star line up for the second time at Sha Tin’s international meeting in the G1 Hong Kong Cup Mile.
Now five, the British-bred gelding (pictured here at six months of age) was bred at Kingsclere Stud by Emma Balding, and he started his career in eye-catching fashion, winning three of his four starts as a three-year-old to earn a rating of 93 when trained by Emma’s son Andrew. With the kind of progressive profile over a mile which is so appealing to buyers from Hong Kong, it was no surprise to see Urban Aspect – as he was originally known – bought by Leung Shek Kong and transferred to the stable of Tony Cruz.
Renamed Ka Ying Star, he has now raced 22 times in Hong Kong, with his three wins including the G3 Lion Rock Trophy. He was beaten only half a length by the classy Beauty Generation in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, and his seven runner-up finishes include his two most recent outings in Group 2 company.
“Ka Ying Star has been so consistent out in Hong Kong,” said Emma Balding. “He has done us all proud, really, and it’s really bad luck that he’s bumped into Golden Sixty as he’s been second to him twice now.”
On Sunday, Ka Ying Star once more faces Golden Sixty, who has been beaten just once in 14 starts at Sha Tin. The top-class field for the Hong Kong Mile also features Beauty Generation, Japanese raider Admire Mars, last year’s Prix Jacques le Marois winner Romanised, and recent Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Order Of Australia.
Ka Ying Star’s dam Casual Glance, by Sinndar, has been retired this year at Kingsclere Stud but her final foal is another colt by Cityscape (pictured in February this year).
“For the first four months he was much better looking than his brother but he’s gone a bit gangly at the moment, which is what I would expect. He’s the biggest of the bunch of five colts I have here in the field,” added Emma Balding.
“Their half-sister Sneaky Peek (Nayef) is also going to be retired to stud. She’s a winner and she could even go to Cityscape.”
