NEWS
Sacred Kingdom scores for Hong Kong in Sprint
Posted: Sunday, December 09, 2007 1:09 PM
SACRED KINGDOM
Matt Goins photo
by K.T. Donovan
Local star Sacred Kingdom thrilled the hometown crowd at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday to kick off the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Races.
The four-year-old Encosta de Lago gelding delivered a visually impressive 2 1/4-length victory in the $1,539,600 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1) and led a dominant Hong Kong-based contingent that swept the first five places.
Royal Delight broke on top and stayed in front under a tight hold by Shane Dye, but the field bunched into a wall of horses rounding the turn. Benbaun and Desert Lord loomed to the outside of the leader, but the foreign invaders were quickly swallowed up by local runners.
Sacred Kingdom came through the pack from off the rail under jockey Gerald Mosse, while last year’s Hong Kong Sprint winner Absolute Champion chased valiantly. Sacred Kingdom uncoiled his best stride and powered clear to prevail in 1:08.40 on turf rated as good. Sacred Kingdom improved to eight wins in nine career starts with the victory and cemented his status as one of the world’s most talented sprinters in training.
Absolute Champion held off third-place finisher Royal Delight by a half-length.
Australian Horse of the year Miss Andretti never appeared comfortable and finished tenth. Benbaun faded to last in the 13-horse field.
Ricky Yiu, trainer of Sacred Kingdom, scored a significant win for Hong Kong racing when he trained Fairy King Prawn to a win in the 1999 Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1). He ranked that win as his most special victory, and noted that two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Fairy King Prawn was more accomplished than Sacred Kingdom. But Yiu has plans to add to Sacred Kingdom’s resume.
“This was a terrific performance,” said Yiu, who trains Sacred Kingdom for owner Sin Kang Yuk. “Gerald Mosse knows him very well, and we were confident. We have seen how he was over 1,000 meters, but now he has won over 1,200 meters. We will think of taking him abroad now.”
Australian-bred Sacred Kingdom is out of the winning Zeditave mare Courtroom Sweetie.
K.T. Donovan is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer
