Hong Kong's second-tier sprinters with international aspirations received a reality check when world champion Sacred Kingdom won a 1,000m turf barrier trial in brilliant fashion yesterday.
The Ricky Yiu Poon-fai-trained six-year-old made his first appearance after a minor injury setback and showed the break has done him the world of good.
He missed his intended trial on September 15 due to a hoof problem and subsequently had his Sprinters' Stakes assault in Japan called off in October. But Yiu was delighted with the way his superstar trialled under the guidance of Brett Prebble.
'It was a very nice trial and Brett was very happy with the way he trialled, too,' Yiu said.
Sacred Kingdom eyeballed Sight Winner (Douglas Whyte) all the way in the middle of the track and once he reached the 100m mark, it was clear the real Sacred Kingdom was back as he unleashed his killer turn of foot to power away.
'He looks in fantastic order. We will go easy on him as it's only the Sprint Trial [November 22] and we don't want to hurt him. He will be at his peak for the International Races on December 13,' Yiu said.