Sacred Kingdom's entitlement to be champion sprinter for 2007-08 was ratified yesterday as a walkover, with no other short-course specialists gaining a nomination from the six-strong judging panel.
Not since the Silent Witness days has there been such unquestioned excellence in a division for the end-of-season awards.
But following the tragic death of Absolute Champion in Singapore on May 18, there was nothing left that could be elevated into the same nomination bracket.
Absolute Champion would have been a worthy nomination, having defeated Sacred Kingdom at Group One level in the Centenary Sprint Cup (1,000m) on January 27, as well as running second to the champ in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint and the Chairman's Sprint Prize.
But Sacred Kingdom has already been ratified by the handicappers as the best sprinter in the world, with an international rating of 123, so logically he must be without peer in Hong Kong. Silent Witness was the sole nominee for champion sprinter in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
Good Ba Ba and Armada are the only two nominations for champion miler, with Good Ba Ba looking to be safely home through his four Group One wins for the season, as part of a five-win sequence.
