David Hayes said no stone has been left unturned in the preparation of his stable star Ka Ying Rising as he galloped at Sha Tin on Friday (19 September) ahead of his trip to Australia to tackle the world’s richest turf race, The Everest (G1, 1200m).

In his final workout on the grass before leaving Hong Kong, the world’s top-rated sprinter clocked 56.9s over 800m – completing the final 400m in 23.6s – in a showing that his Australian handler called “a good piece of work”.

“He looked like he probably finished off (the final 200m) in about 11.5 (seconds), doing it very easy. And when he came back, he didn’t blow a candle out,” Hayes said.

“We weighed him and he’s thriving. He’s at about 1,164 (lb) this morning, and he raced (in the Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup Handicap) at around 1,150, so that’s a good sign. They normally drop about 10 pounds when they travel, so he’ll be right on his winning weight when he gets there.”

Ka Ying Rising, Hong Kong’s reigning Horse of the Year, is being kept in quarantine ahead of his departure for Sydney on Sunday (21 September). The five-year-old, who has won his last 13 races, including four Group 1 victories, will compete overseas for the first time.

For regular rider Zac Purton, it’s been a long road to the Sydney showdown.

“It’s been a big build-up – nearly 11 months in the making, really. So, it’s been a topic of discussion for a long time now,” said the eight-time Hong Kong champion jockey.

“It’s exciting to go down there, obviously, back to Australia and Sydney’s sort of where I’m from,” Purton added. “There’s going to be a lot of people going down there with the horse.”

The 2025 edition of the AU$20 million (approx. HK$102.8 million) The Everest at Royal Randwick on 18 October is hugely anticipated by racing fans across the world, but Hayes said the excitement hasn’t been limited to the racing public.

“The staff are very excited. He’s getting the rockstar treatment! He’s travelling with his vet, his farrier, his riding boy, his mafoo, and just to make it a good thing, my assistant trainer’s going down to make sure everything goes smoothly when he walks in the quarantine, so we’re not leaving a stone unturned,” he said.

Closer to home, the feature race of this Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting is the Class 2 Yi Tung Shan Handicap (1200m), and Hayes, who has started the season with three winners from the opening four meetings, fields two runners in the contest.

Former DBS x Manulife Million Challenge winner Tomodachi Kokoroe (123lb) and veteran Harmony N Blessed (122lb) both finished off last season in good form and will be ridden by Harry Bentley and Purton, respectively.

“Tomodachi Kokoroe ran brilliantly at the end of last season and his trial form suggests he’s at that level again, so I’m expecting a really good run,” Hayes said. “Harmony N Blessed ran in Ka Ying Rising’s race (the Class 1 HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup) the other day and was a bit underdone, but he gets Zac Purton. I think that race has tightened him up and his work has been very good. I’d probably lean towards Tomodachi Kokoroe of the two, but Harmony N Blessed won this race last year with the same prep so he could improve a lot.”

Caspar Fownes leapt to the top of the trainers’ rankings with a four-timer at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (17 September), and he’s hoping Dancing Code (129lb) can land him another winner in the same race.

The seven-year-old, owned by Hong Kong entertainer Aaron Kwok, has amassed over HK$10.6 million in total stakes and ended last term with two second-place finishes before a win over course and distance with apprentice Ellis Wong in the saddle.

“(Dancing Code) remains in good form. He had a lovely trial in Conghua last week down the straight, and we know he’s got a pretty good record on the 1200 (metres) at Sha Tin so we’re looking forward to the race. He got a nice soft draw – I’m sure he’ll be competitive,” Fownes said.

Wong takes the ride on Dancing Code after delivering Fownes two of his four winners at Wednesday night’s Happy Valley meeting.

“Ellis has a good record on him,” Fownes added. “He’s won a few races and they get on well together.

“Any time you can do three or four winners in Hong Kong, it’s always something to be proud of, and on that night it was good for the kid (Wong). He rode both horses well in the first two races – they won nicely.”

Sunday’s (21 September) 10-race fixture at Sha Tin kicks off at 1pm with the Class 5 Kowloon Tsai Handicap (1800m).