Champion Hong Kong sprinter Ka Ying Rising is living every girls’ dream – he has arrived in Sydney several pounds lighter and to a new pair of shoes.
Speaking from Hong Kong after the gelding had a look around Canterbury racecourse on Thursday morning, trainer David Hayes reported the Everest favourite had handled the travel well despite losing the equivalent of around 10 kilos on the flight over.
“He’s in great order. He’s got some new shoes on, he’s settled in and he’s enjoying having a pick of the grass outside his stable,” Hayes said.
“He did lose twenty-two pounds – if the scales are correct and they’re calibrated the same because the Hong Kong scales may be different.
“But the most important thing is he’s eating his feed, he’s drinking and there’s a consistent weight in Australia.
“I’m not concerned about his weight. He is carrying terrific condition.”
The winner of 14 of his 16 starts and past 13 in succession, Ka Ying Rising is an odds-on favourite for the $20 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 18.
The Hong Kong-based Hayes confirmed he would be in Sydney to oversee the horse’s scheduled barrier trial on October 7 at Randwick and was then likely to stay on until race day.
Hayes regards the trial as critical to Ka Ying Rising’s build up as it gives the horse a chance to blow out the cobwebs after his quarantine stint.
“He’s working on his own all the time in quarantine and that will be a bit of competitive company to trial against,” Hayes said.
“He won’t be out to break records but we will certainly let him increase the last 200 metres in the trial to stretch his legs out.
“That’s a very important day for him. I will be down there monitoring how the horse is coping and pointing the staff in the right direction.”
Hayes also revealed he had been keeping a close eye on Ka Ying’s Rising Everest opposition and had been impressed by Joliestar’s first-up win in The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick last weekend and Lady Shenandoah’s luckless return behind Headwall in the Concorde Stakes (1000m).
But while respectful of Australia’s sprinting talent, he also warned Ka Ying Rising was still improving and said provided the horse turned up to Randwick on Everest day at his top, he deserved to be the race’s No. 1 seed.
“It’s not going to be a walk in the park but I’d say if his ratings are any guide, they all need to probably improve on their current ratings to beat him,” he said.
And if the race goes to script and Ka Ying Rising can stretch his unbeaten sequence to 14 wins, Hayes will seriously consider a return next year.
“With that huge quarantine that he’s going through, probably if it worked I’d repeat next year and put him on a similar path,” he said.
