He’s been inundated with messages from people around the world after helping save Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin, but Chris McMullen has deflected praise for his role in the incident.

Images and video of the Jockey Club’s assistant starter stepping in to tackle a protester who ran onto the track as the Cup field turned for home went viral on social media, with McMullen drawing praise for his quick thinking.

The Cup, won by champion galloper Romantic Warrior for a record-extending fourth consecutive year, was almost called off in running but McMullen and fellow staff managed to hold the invader on the ground at the 100m mark before the field raced past.

“I’ve been hearing from people all across the world, people I haven’t heard from for a long time,” said McMullen.

“I don’t really know what I was thinking actually, I just saw him out there and knew I had to get him out of harm’s way of horses and jockeys. That was the only thing on my mind.”

McMullen, who was a work rider in Hong Kong for more than a decade before taking on the assistant starter role, praised vet Dr Amy Kelly and barrier attendant Scott Duffy who were also quick on the scene.

“It wasn’t just me – one of the vets got there very quickly and cleaned up the sign he was carrying and one of the barrier attendants, Scott Duffy, did a great job,” McMullen said.

“He’s only been with the club for a few months, so for him to do that was highly commendable as well.”

Rising’s rating query

Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges again made it known that international handicappers should take more notice of Ka Ying Rising after he demolished his rivals again in Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).

While he might be rated the world’s best sprinter, David Hayes’ superstar was only equal seventh on the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for races between January 1 and November 9.

“It’s the best sprinter I’ve ever seen in my life. I hope the handicappers agree with me,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said after Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) meeting.

Engelbrecht-Bresges put Ka Ying Rising’s standing among the world’s best on the agenda in the aftermath of his stunning Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1,200m) success on November 23.

“If a horse like him isn’t rated as one of the top five horses in the world, I have to be careful as chairman of the IFHA not to make statements, but it’s not personal,” he said at the time.

Jockey Club head of racing product Greg Carpenter echoed Engelbrecht-Bresges’ sentiment, but explained it was tough for sprinters given most of the world’s most highly-rated Group Ones are over middle distances.

Ka Ying Rising’s Jockey Club Sprint win did earn him a new peak rating of 128 – up from his previous best 126 from April’s Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m).

Whether his 16th straight triumph on Sunday boosts that number again won’t be revealed until the final World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2025 are released in January.

French star Calandagan headed the latest release of the WBRR with a rating of 130 before his outstanding win in the Group One Japan Cup (2,400m).