Australian Racing Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes respects the sprinters his homeland produces, but believes they all have to lift to challenge his Hong Kong champion Ka Ying Rising in the Everest.

That claim came even though the world’s highest-rated horse lost a bit more weight than was hoped on his trip to Sydney.

The Everest drawcard was on show at Canterbury Park on Thursday morning with a light hit-out. The five-year-old, on a 13-race winning streak, arrived on Monday and will spend two weeks in quarantine at Canterbury preparing for the $20 million Everest (1200m) on October 18 at Randwick. He will trial there on October 7.

Hayes revealed from his training base in Hong Kong on Thursday that the $1.70 (Sportsbet) Everest favourite had lost 22 pounds (10 kilograms) in transit, dou

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