The meeting before international week often lacks a touch of excitement, but one galloper who looks to have the potential to add some spice to Sunday’s proceedings at Sha Tin is David Hayes-trained debutant Ka Ying Rising.

Victorious in three trials on the Conghua turf and one down the Sha Tin straight, Ka Ying Rising then switched to the Sha Tin all-weather track for yet another victory in his final hit-out before this weekend’s Class Four Hankow Handicap (1,200m).

“I’m expecting a good run,” Hayes said. “He’s had trials in Australia and five well-spaced trials here, and he’s undefeated in those trials. He’s never been put under much pressure, but he’s very natural. It’ll be hard to win, but he’s got the profile that could.”

Ka Ying Rising jumps from barrier eight under Zac Purton in an open race, with last-start winner Telecom Dragon, recent runner-up Strathpeffer and three fellow debutants among the three-year-old’s opponents.

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“The only thing I’ll say is there’s not much form out of his trials,” Hayes said. The Australian handler cannot say the same for Jamie Richards’ Mr Maestro, who makes his first race start after trailing home Watch Buddy and Howdeepisyourlove in a Sha Tin heat last week.

Watch Buddy parlayed that trial effort into a Class Four win at Happy Valley on Wednesday, while the 96-rated Howdeepisyourlove ran third in a Class Two on the same programme in his first run since July.

“That’s pretty hot form, whereas my fellah – if you look what he trialled against – hasn’t beaten much, even though he beat them pretty easy,” Hayes admitted.

Ka Ying Rising is not the only three-year-old in his stable whom Hayes hopes can make an impact, with the Australian trainer looking forward to the arrival of Group One Blue Diamond Stakes (1,200m) hero Little Brose in the coming weeks.

Prepared to win the prestigious two-year-old feature by Hayes’ sons Ben and JD, Little Brose’s Hong Kong-based owner Peter Young has decided to move his star colt to the city with an eye to the 2025 Classic Series.

“His owner, Mr Young, was very keen to watch him race in Hong Kong. He’s got great stallion value, but he still wants to run him in Hong Kong. It’s a real plus for Hong Kong – I think he might be a good sprinter here eventually,” Hayes said.

“He’ll have plenty of time to acclimatise for the four-year-old series. The boys are pretty confident he’ll run a mile. Things didn’t quite go right for him in the spring, but he was still competitive – he wasn’t far away.

“We’ll just let him acclimatise properly and run him at the end of this season. We’ll get him in while the weather is beautiful. As the weather warms up, he’ll be trialling, and then we’ll run him in something at the end of the season.”