Crossword Genius

Here's hoping I spring a surprise (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aspiring

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'here's hoping' is the definition.
(to aspire is to hope)

'i spring a surprise' is the wordplay.
'i spring a' can be anagrammed to 'ASPIRING'.
Though, I'm not clear how this is indicated.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aspiring that I've seen before include "Having a strong desire to achieve something" , "Strongly desiring to achieve" , "Wanting to get high" , "Ambitious, hopeful" , "Would-be" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.
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