David Hayes expects foreign challenger Satono Reve and local hope Helios Express to offer the biggest dangers to champion galloper Ka Ying Rising in Sunday’s (26 April) HK$24 million G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) at Sha Tin.



Both have had their chances in previous contests – and failed – but Hayes is taking nothing for granted.



After a last-start victory in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m), Hayes said Satono Reve, who will be ridden by Joao Moreira, is a special sprinter.



“Satono Reve is very impressive,” Hayes said. “He is a champion and always has to be respected, and that’s his positive.



“His negative is that he has tried three times and hasn’t been able to beat him (Ka Ying Rising), but it does not mean he has not come back the best. He is probably in the best form he has been since coming here.”



Hayes said John Size-trained Helios Express, second to Ka Ying Rising eight times, always has to be respected.



“He is a very, very good horse,” Hayes said. “But having said all that, if the market is true to form, we’ll be at $1.01, and they’ll probably be 40/1 or 50/1.



“Helios is a horse that puts his best run up every time and has almost broken track records doing it, and unfortunately, he is in a generation where there is a freak.”



Hayes said the size of the field, the barrier draw and the rating of the track won’t have any influence on Ka Ying Rising’s performance. “He is mentally very good now, and he overcomes barriers.”

He said there are no concerns with Ka Ying Rising performing at his best on a rain-affected surface, adding that he had nearly broken the track record on a wet Sha Tin track.



“If it is yielding, I won’t be concerned,” he said. “If it is wet, he’ll run one (minute), eight (seconds). That’s not too bad, is it? If it’s dry, he’ll run one, seven.”



Hayes isn’t looking for Ka Ying Rising to surpass his own benchmark for the 1200m.



“The only way he’ll break the record is the tempo,” he said. “If the tempo is fast, he’ll break the record, and if the tempo is slow, he won’t. There won’t be any instructions to break the record.”



Hayes said that after Sunday, Ka Ying Rising’s campaign will be a copy and paste of last year.



“He’ll go to Conghua and have a nice holiday and get out in a day paddock, and he’ll be gradually built up with a couple of trials under his belt for the first race,” he said. “He’ll have to carry a bit of weight, but I want to get a good competitive run into him. He’ll come straight back after The Everest and be set for the international race (G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint, 1200m).”



Hugh Bowman, who will again ride Helios Express, said Ka Ying Rising seems to get better and better.



“It is what it is and we’ll pad up and go out and do our best,” he said. “Helios has a real certain pattern and has got a devastating finish if I ride him for it and that’s what we’ll do and see what happens.”



Sunday’s (26 April) 11-race FWD Champions Day fixture at Sha Tin commences at 12.30pm with the Class 4 FWD Insurance Act Private Handicap (1200m).