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On the Rails

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Why you can trust SCMP
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From a strictly Hong Kong point of view, Sacred Kingdom's mild demotion to third-ranked sprinter behind Black Caviar was probably the main point of the international classification figures released last week, albeit a very much expected one.

And Sunday's Centenary Sprint Cup win did nothing but back up the view that the great sprinter is feeling the effects of age, in particular over the final stages of his races, where he is either running out of steam or looking after himself in a way that a younger star does not.

In fact, the classifications could be seen as being somewhat kinder to Sacred Kingdom in his autumn than ever they were at the peak of his summer.

To compare the 121-rated Sacred Kingdom of the current moment to the marauding four-year-old, who mostly bashed whatever he met and was given a 123 rating for it, seems a trifle out of whack, frankly. As does comparing the 121-rated Sacred Kingdom, who battled away to hold a diminishing three-quarter length margin over a good, purposeful but hardly stunning sprinter like Dim Sum, to the 123 peak that Silent Witness held at the height of his powers.

And so we arrive at the glass ceiling.

In the wider list of international ratings, there appears freedom to just think of a number for the leading horse over more classical distances, with Harbinger on 135 in this edition and Sea The Stars on 136 in the 2009 list.

Part of that issue lies in the winning margins. Over a distance it is more likely that a winner can put up a margin like the 11-length victory Harbinger posted in the King George at Royal Ascot. Inherent to the nature of them, short-course races are generally won by more conventional margins, even when the win is just as dominant and handicappers are great admirers of beaten margins.

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