Lord Kanaloa capped his magnificent career with a five-length demolition of the Group One Longines Hong Kong Sprint field, a performance that connections called his best ever and challenged handicappers to lift his much discussed international rating.
The Takayuki Yasuda-trained stallion now heads to the breeding barn after becoming the first back-to-back winner of the Hong Kong Sprint since Silent Witness in 2003-04, having notched 13 wins including six Group Ones and never finishing unplaced in 19 starts.
"This was the best performance of his career and I could feel him ready to unleash his run on the home turn," winning jockey Yasunari Iwata said. "Maybe he knew it was his final race."
A delighted Yasuda added; "I look forward to training his offspring, and I hope one day I have one good enough to bring back here."
It is yet to be decided at which stud farm the five-year-old son of Lord Kamehameha will stand, but his services will be in demand after a race where he left no doubts about his greatness.
Lord Kanaloa's connections had wished for a wider gate, and ended up with barrier 12, but Iwata sat wide and the 1.8 favourite powered away upon straightening. 76-1 shot Sole Power ran on for second with John Moore's Frederick Engels third in an incident packed race.
Ed Lynam's trainer Sole Power had questioned Lord Kanaloa's previous rating of 120 in the week leading up to the race, and quipped afterward. "If he is rated 120, I'd hate to meet him in a handicap." The committee World's Best Racehorse Rankings committee will get the chance to rectify what has been perceived as a slight against Japanese runners when they meet tonight, and the horse may go to a new high of 127. That would rank him fifth behind only Black Caviar and Treve on 130, Wise Dan (129) and Novellist (128) - not that Yasuda seemed to mind.
"The rankings aren't really relevant in Japan, whether it is 120 or 125 we are really not concerned," he said.
Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Handicapper Nigel Gray is co-chairman of the committee and defended the 120 mark, saying the horse had beaten lower-rated oppositions by relatively narrow margins.
"If you look at his previous ratings it wouldn't be possible to get him to higher rating than that," he said. "Winning today by five lengths over that distance is probably worth 12 pounds here, and in my opinion, on face value, that looks like being around 127."
Caspar Fownes' 2011 winner Lucky Nine blew his chances at the start, not for the first time in his career, and suffered defeat at the hands of the Japanese star for the third time. "Thank God he is retiring," Fownes said post-race. "What an amazing horse."
Grief as Jwala fall mars presentation
English jockey Steve Drowne remains under observation in hospital as the result of a dramatic fall in the Group One Longines Hong Kong Sprint that saw his mount Jwala die, after which Hong Kong Jockey Club officials were forced to answer criticism for what was seen by some to be an insensitive presentation.
A stewards' hearing into the fall has been adjourned after Drowne broke his left collarbone and punctured a lung before being admitted to Prince Of Wales Hospital.
Nunthorpe Stakes winner Jwala was racing in tight room between Charles The Great and Lucky Nine, before toppling to the turf at the 50m mark and suffering a severe neck injury. Drowne was speared into the turf and initially was motionless on the ground.
The four-year-old filly passed away while being loaded into a Jockey Club horse ambulance after being sedated behind a temporary green screen.
What drew the ire of some was that the presentation ceremony went ahead close to where the horse and jockey were being treated, with distraught owners of Jwala in tears where horses normally return to scale.
Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said the situation was handled as sensitively as possible.
"We discussed it with connections, the vets had a look and the horse was alive, and we knew the jockey we knew was conscious and he was talking," Engelbrecht-Bresges said. "The horse was sedated and we wanted to give the horse as much time as we could to recover."
Executive director of racing Bill Nader visited Drowne last night and said the 42-year-old was in good spirits. "He will be in the hospital for a few days I think," Nader said. "As far as the presentation goes, everyone was being well attended to and the horse and jockey were conscious. The main focus was that they were both getting the care they needed. The vets did a great job on their side and the ambulance team did a great job with the jockey, too."
Jockey Brett Doyle was fortunate to escape the incident, after his mount Joy And Fun attempted to jump the stricken horse and rider shortly after they fell. Doyle was nearly dislodged and did well to stay aboard the 10-year-old.
"The horse saw it before me and tried to jump, I fell forward and ended up holding him around the neck," Doyle said. "I was very lucky."
