The one small chink in Ka Ying Rising’s armour seems to be a thing of the past as the world’s best sprinter once again impressed his trainer David Hayes in a barrier trial on Thursday ahead of the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m).

The apple of Hayes’ eye is going for a 17th straight win at Sha Tin on January 25, and he rocketed out of the gates under Zac Purton on Sha Tin’s dirt surface, easing away from his rivals to win by three and three-quarter lengths.

He clocked a time of 1:10.36, leaving stablemate Romantic Son trailing in his wake, while Galaxy Patch was third and Helios Express was just sixth.

Some slow starts were the only thing to give Hayes some cause for concern earlier in his career, but after his smash break in the trial and his recent performances, it seems that one potential speed bump is no longer a worry.

“I think that was the fastest I’ve ever seen him jump; if he had a weakness, he would sometimes step a bit slow, but he seems to have got quieter in the gates with maturity,” said Hayes.

“He’s become an incredibly fast beginner which obviously really helps in Hong Kong – this season he has done brilliantly and not missed it once. I think it’s now a thing of the past.

“He trialled as expected and had a healthy blow, which was expected, but he had a pretty easy time. I think he’s going to be a very, very short price next week isn’t he?

“Not a thing has gone wrong in his whole preparation. He’s exactly where I want him and everything has gone as planned.”

History beckons for Ka Ying Rising next week, as a second consecutive win in the Centenary Sprint Cup would equal Silent Witness’ record of the most consecutive wins by a Hong Kong horse.

The Tony Cruz-trained superstar gained his 17 straight wins from December 2002 to April 2005, before he suffered a $1.2 defeat at the hands of stablemate Bullish Luck in the Champions Mile when attempting that trip for the first time.

Ka Ying Rising, who won the world’s richest turf race, The Everest (1,200m) in October, has subsequently demolished his rivals in both the Group Two Jockey Club Sprint (1,200m) and Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).

The latter victory took his top-level tally to seven and victory in next week’s race would put him on the path to going back to back in the Hong Kong Speed Series.

Elsewhere on Thursday morning, the second trial saw last year’s Champions Mile winner Red Lion tune up for next week’s Group One Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) with a second-place finish to Greater Bae.

John Size’s galloper has the unenviable task of taking on Triple Crown-seeking pair of Voyage Bubble and Romantic Warrior, with the former trying to go back-to-back in that accolade.

Raging Blizzard, who finished second to Ka Ying Rising in the Hong Kong Sprint last month, finished third in the same trial for Size. He will take on Ka Ying Rising again next week.