Once the Hong Kong Sprint is run, and if Ka Ying Rising does as expected and dominates his rivals, David Hayes will shift from being the hunted to becoming the hunter in the Hong Kong Cup.

Just as Ka Ying Rising appears to have his race under control, Romantic Warrior looks near impossible to stop in the 2000-metre Group 1 feature. Hayes is content for Straight Arron to show his best even if that means contesting the minor placings.

“We’re just going to follow Romantic Warrior and hope he has a bad day,” Hayes said.

“Romantic Warrior is a superstar but it is a small field with seven runners and sometimes those races become upsets.”

Straight Arron finished fourth in the Group 2 Jockey Club Cup (2000m), more than five lengths behind Romantic Warrior, leaving plenty of ground to bridge.

Hayes remains realistic.

“We are hoping to give him a smooth run from barrier one and I am hoping he can run a place. A season ago he was the unlucky runner behind Romantic Warrior. Romantic Warrior had the tough run and he had the cosy run.”

Craig Williams arrives in Hong Kong on Sunday morning to take the ride.

Hayes will also saddle Tomodachi Kokoroe in the Sprint and while he concedes the longshot is no match for Ka Ying Rising on paper, he believes the horse has the form to grab a placing.

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