Retirement for one of the world’s most accomplished sprinters may be looming sooner than expected.
Sacred Kingdom, for so long the pride of Hong Kong racing, is running out of races to prove Father Time hasn’t caught up with him.
A four-time Hong Kong horse of the year winner, Sacred Kingdom ran the worst race of his career at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Contesting the Hong Kong Sprint, a race he won in 2007 and 2009, the Australian-bred sprinter finished 10th of the 14 runners.
Trainer Ricky Yiu said the eight-year-old would be closely monitored before a decision is made about the future.
“I’ll look at him in the next two days and talk to the owner,” Yiu told the South China Morning Post.
Sacred Kingdom needs one more win to pass the Hong Kong record of 17 set by Silent Witness.
But Yiu said chasing the record would not come at the expense of the horse’s welfare.
“If anything goes wrong with him he’ll stop,” he said.
