Connections of local superstars Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior walked away from the Sha Tin parade ring happy after the pair drew inside gates for Sunday’s Longines Hong Kong International Races.

While it was never going to matter too much which gate Romantic Warrior landed for the seven-runner Group One Hong Kong Cup, barrier two was just about perfect for the champion and should ensure him a smooth passage around the first bend from the tricky Sha Tin 2,000m start.

Trainer David Hayes was his normal upbeat self after Ka Ying Rising drew gate one for the first time in his career, although he is aware of the risks that could come with jumping from the inside alley as he chases a second consecutive victory in the Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).

“Very happy. He’s just got to jump fast and he’ll either take a sit or lead if Zac [Purton] is not happy with the pace. I think Zac will be very happy. I’ll leave him to it,” said Hayes.

“Hopefully he gets a trouble-free run. You can get blocked in from barrier one but I don’t think he will.

“If he flies the start I think Zac’s in the box seat. Probably the only complication is if he jumps slow, which he’s rarely ever done. Getting boxed in would be a concern, but we just have to take it on the chin and trust the horse.

“Lately he’s so fast out of the gates and his first 100m he gets himself into a very comfortable position.

“He normally draws out, so it’s nice that if he jumps fast he can have a nice easy run to the home bend.”

Even if Ka Ying Rising were to find himself in a sticky position buried on the rail, Hayes is confident the runs will come for the world’s best sprinter.

“There’s a lot of pressure in these races and when horses are under pressure they come off the bend a bit and runs come,” he said.

Hayes’ other Sprint runner, Tomodachi Kokoroe, drew gate seven – “I really think he can run in the top three if he gets a good run in transit” – while the leading international in the contest, Japan’s Satono Reve, has barrier four.

There were mixed fortunes for the locals in the Group One Hong Kong Mile, with My Wish the big winner after scoring gate two while most of the other leading chances drew wide.

“Very happy. I don’t think I would swap it,” said jockey Luke Ferraris, while trainer Mark Newnham gave a nod of approval as he left the parade ring.

Barely an hour after Purton told a press conference that Voyage Bubble “needs to draw a nice gate because you don’t want to bustle him too much at the start”, Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s defending champion was lumped with barrier 12.

“He’s a very versatile sort of horse. He can travel midfield or even more forward, so I’ll leave it to the jockey to make his decision,” said Yiu.

Joining Voyage Bubble with double-figure alleys were fellow winning chances Embroidery (10), Soul Rush (11) and The Lion In Winter (14).

In the Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m), Giavellotto will jump from gate six in his quest for back-to-back wins while fellow big guns Al Riffa (two), Urban Chic (three), Goliath (four) and Sosie (eight) also have single-figure gates.