The biggest week in Hong Kong racing has arrived and with it comes great pressure and expectation.

There’s HK$126 million on offer across the four Group One features at Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR), massive money will be wagered and champion status is on the line.

The Post takes a look at who needs to deliver this week.

Ka Ying must keep Rising

Let’s start with the obvious. Perhaps the most hyped horse in the world right now, the David Hayes-trained Ka Ying Rising gets the chance to land his first blow of real substance in Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).

He’s the horse plenty are most looking forward to watching race this week and many are convinced he’s already the world’s best speedster, but it counts for very little until he has a Group One win next to his name.

Both jockey Zac Purton (Aerovelocity twice and Lucky Sweynesse) and David Hayes (All Thrills Too) have tasted Sprint success, but it’s the latter who will be most eager to get the job done this Sunday.

A big-race trainer throughout his career, Hayes is yet to taste Group One success since returning to Hong Kong in 2020 and he will be desperate to tick that box before what shapes as an enormous 2025 with Ka Ying Rising.

Expectations are also great for Romantic Warrior, who will be a short-priced favourite to win his third consecutive Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m).

It’s rare for Hong Kong connections to plan as far ahead as trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing and owner Peter Lau Pak-fai have done with Romantic Warrior, especially before HKIR.

A poor showing from the city’s best galloper would certainly take some of the shine off his looming trip to the Middle East for a trio of races headlined by the US$20 million Group One Saudi Cup (1,800m) on the dirt.

Can Japan hit back?

HKIR has long been a happy hunting ground for the Japanese, with 20 wins overall and no less than a dozen victories in the past decade, but last year connections from the Land of the Rising Sun went home empty-handed for the first time since 2018.

That blank has become part of something of an overseas drought for Japanese horses – should Japan miss out this weekend, it will finish the year winless in Group One races abroad for the first time since 2018.

It’s something that won’t be sitting well with the proud racing nation and its participants, but they have nine chances to change that on Sunday.

Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m) runner Stellenbosch, Group One Hong Kong Mile pair Soul Rush and Jantar Mantar and second favourite for the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m), Liberty Island, look the best chances of getting the job done for Japan.

‘HK the centre of world racing’

Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges declared at Monday morning’s Longines International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) draw that “Hong Kong is the centre of world racing, especially in December” and officials will be feeling the pressure that comes with hosting a swag of the sport’s biggest names and a throng of overseas media.

The Jockey Club is pleased with the strength of the international raiding party and especially the fact there will be Australian and American participation at what it labels its “Turf World Championships”, while the IJC has again attracted a strong line-up of riders.

Now it’s just a matter of everything going smoothly, but there will no doubt be plenty of officials on edge between now and when the champagne is passed around on Sunday evening.

A good start would be a less shambolic running of the IJC media event at Tai Kwun on Tuesday, rather than a repeat of last year’s chaos, which saw a dozen of the world’s best riders herded from pillar to post for photos and interviews in spaces not fit for purpose.