Ka Ying Rising arrives in Sydney to prepare for The Everest defense

David Hayes couldn’t be happier with Ka Ying Rising after the champion sprinter arrived in Sydney on Monday to prepare to defend his crown in next month’s Group One The Everest (1,200m) at Randwick.

The world’s highest-rated galloper and winner of 21 consecutive races flew out of Hong Kong on Sunday night and settled in quickly at Canterbury racecourse, where he will spend two weeks in quarantine.

Hayes had his farrier, vet, groom, track rider and assistant trainer in Sydney to make sure everything was in order for Ka Ying Rising’s arrival.

Stablemate Ka Ying Glory, who was recently retired because of a tendon injury, travelled to Australia with Ka Ying Rising as a companion.

“He’s in his stable safe and sound. He had a couple of easy days before flying and he’ll be straight into it. It was all really smooth,” Hayes said.

“He’ll just have a walk and trot tomorrow morning, a canter the next day and then he’ll gradually build up.

“He’s a very good traveller, as it’s turned out. We’re very, very lucky. We didn’t know what to expect last year. This year, we knew he could handle it very easily.”

Hayes has replicated his stable star’s preparation from last year, when Ka Ying Rising created history by becoming the first overseas horse to win the world’s richest race, the A$20 million (HK$111.8 million) The Everest.

The nine-time Group One winner will trial at Randwick on October 6 with champion jockey Zac Purton on board ahead of The Everest, which is on October 17.

The only difference in his preparation this year is his training load, with Hayes admitting Ka Ying Rising was not at his peak in his famous triumph 12 months ago.

That was evident in his blistering return in the Group Three HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin on September 6, with Purton asking him for a stronger effort en route to smashing his own track record by almost a second.

He also galloped strongly over 1,200m on the Sha Tin turf last Friday before leaving Hong Kong.

“It was good on Friday – he did it easily and ate up afterwards, which is the most important thing,” Hayes said.

Ka Ying Rising’s Chief Executive’s Cup blitz earned him a rating of 135 – the highest mark achieved by a sprinter in the history of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, surpassing Black Caviar’s figure of 132 from 2011.

It is the equal fourth highest rating given to a racehorse in WBRR history behind the legendary Frankel (140 and 136), Flightline (140) and Sea The Stars (136).

Ka Ying Rising will again run in the Hong Kong Jockey Club slot in The Everest and is one of only two confirmed runners for the prestigious race at this stage.

He is the red-hot $1.3 favourite in overseas markets, with three-year-old Guest House and last year’s third placegetter Tempted sharing the next line of betting at $9.

Meanwhile, jockey Hugh Bowman said he will “decide in the coming days” whether to have surgery or a cortisone injection on a labral tear in his right hip.

The Australian ace is facing four-to-five months of recovery if he opts for surgery, or two-to-three weeks if he chooses a cortisone injection.