Fraser Auret says he will be a proud man when Ka Ying Rising lines up in the HK$28 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin on 14 December against a strong international field with hopes of adding to his 15 consecutive wins.
Auret is a trainer and horse trader from the Central Districts of New Zealand’s North Island in a small country with an outsized tradition of producing champion racehorses.
But whatever he achieves in those facets of the game, he will be forever remembered as the breeder of Ka Ying Rising, widely acclaimed as the world’s best sprinter.
Auret insists he won’t have mixed feelings on raceday, wishing perhaps he had kept the first foal of broodmare Missy Moo (by Per Incanto) for himself to race and train.
“At the end of the day, our business only survives on selling good horses. Nobody could have predicted the heights Ka Ying Rising would scale. Saying that, we pride ourselves in selling untapped young horses. We’ve loved every minute of the entire journey,” he adds.
Auret trains 60 horses at the old Marton Racecourse, near Palmerston North. He trained Missy Moo to win five races for one of his clients and then took her on himself as a broodmare. It was his first venture into breeding, and Ka Ying Rising was the first horse he bred.
“Missy Moo was very talented but she had issues with one of her legs and was ultimately retired. It was that same leg that later led to her having to be put down after she had just two foals.
“We always do the right thing by the horse. The arthritis in the back leg meant that the more pregnant she got, the more sore she was getting. We simply did the right thing by the horse, which was our number one priority.”
Auret visited the Sha Tin stables of David Hayes, who also trains Ka Ying Rising’s half-brother Ka Ying Glory, who runs in the Class 4 Fairy King Prawn Handicap (1400m), the opening race at Sunday’s LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.
“It was wonderful to get the opportunity to go and see them both. Their boxes are next to each other.
“When you pass the baton on to another trainer, it’s out of your hands. I guess my feeling is one of immense pride. We are in the Central Districts, and typically we punch above our weight, breeding and developing horses that can compete all around the world.”
Auret now owns seven broodmares. He has just received word that three of them are in foal to Shamexpress, the sire of Ka Ying Rising.