KEY POINTS:
A new star of Hong Kong racing emerged when Sacred Kingdom easily won the HK$12 million ($2.01 million) Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin yesterday.
In the same race Miss Andretti, rated one of the world's best sprinters, failed to handle the right-handed way of racing and
was well beaten.
Sacred Kingdom's win was his eighth from nine starts and the winner's purse of HK$2.6 million took his earnings to $8.7 million.
Despite the presence of Miss Andretti, Sacred Kingdom was heavily backed on the Hong Kong totalisator to return a win dividend of $1.45.
The huge support was well directed. Sacred Kingdom, ridden by Gerald Mosse, raced in about seventh position, loomed up halfway down the home straight and came clear to score by 2 1/4 lengths as the race caller declared: "He's in absolute world class."
That comment was backed up by the horse's Hong Kong trainer Ricky Yiu, who said: "He's one of the best sprinters in the world."
Sacred Kingdom, a four-year-old gelding by Encosta De Lago, was bred in Australia and was sold to his Hong Kong owner for A$200,000.
Second yesterday was last year's Hong Kong Sprint winner Absolute Champion, who was handy throughout and hit the lead in the straight but had no answer to Sacred Kingdom's finish.
A neck away third was the Hong Kong-trained Royal Delight with 1 3/4 lengths to Scintillation (Hong Kong) fourth.
Miss Andretti, who started about a $4.70 second favourite, raced handy on the outside but was beaten at the top of the straight and dropped out to finish 10th of the 13 runners.
Miss Andretti was having her first start racing in the right-handed direction and her Australian trainer Lee Freedman said that proved her downfall.
"Despite all the work we did going right-handed, as soon as she hit the first bend she was getting her head up, wanting to hang," Freedman said.
"She was never on the right leg the whole race. I don't think I would be in a rush to run her right-handed again.
"It was one thing I wasn't counting on a being a big problem. But in the end it was."
In the HK$14 million Hong Kong Vase (2400m) victory went to the French-trained Doctor Dino with the highly-rated Dylan Thomas unplaced. Doctor Dino, trained by Richard Gibson and ridden by Oliver Peslier, came from well back in the 13-horse field to beat the German-trained Quijano, who also came from the back, by 1 1/2 lengths.
The win took Doctor Dino's record to 23 starts for seven wins, four seconds and six thirds.
Dylan Thomas, who was to be retired after the race, dropped back to last in the running and battled into seventh.
- NZPA
