Giant gelding Sky King is one of the biggest horses in training at Sha Tin but it didn’t stop the sprinter excelling at the smaller Happy Valley course and now trainer Caspar Fownes is hoping the youngster’s massive frame doesn’t get in the way of what could be a productive career.

Sky King weighed in at a tick under 1,300 pounds for yesterday’s Class Four – 1,297 pounds to be exact, after having topped 1,300 pounds previously. That weight ensured he took the odd title of being the largest horse to win this season, wresting the mantle from Hong Kong’s most famous racing giant, Able Friend, as well as John Size-trained three-year-old Love Shock – both won at 1,283 pounds this season.

A solid trial at the circuit had already dispelled any reservations Fownes had about whether the three-year-old could squeeze his big frame around the relatively tight confines of the city track, but of greater concern is the sheer size of his prospect.

“I’ve had a lot of big horses come here and handle it and he trialled well here, so that wasn’t a worry,” Fownes said after Olivier Doleuze made good use of gate three. “That draw helped, and so did the drop in grade of course.”

Fownes now has his fingers crossed that Sky King stays sound and is straightforward to train.

“If a big horse like that has a setback, being such a good doer, they’ll eat you out of house and home and it can be hard to get the work into them to keep the weight under control,” Fownes said. “If he stays sound, we will have a bit of fun with him.”

A winner of an Ipswich maiden late last year, Sky King had been unplaced in five starts so far for Fownes, which had brought about the drop into Class Four. However, the trainer said this was all part of the growing pains – somewhat literally – for a horse that the trainer believes will be best suited over a mile.

“That’s where he will really be able to show his best. I think we have got something to work with,” he said.

With Able Friend spelling in Australia, it would usually be safe to assume that a 1,297-pound horse would have claims to being the biggest in training at Sha Tin, but that honour goes to another three-year-old, Positive Force, who tipped the scales at a whopping 1,318 pounds before his first race start in April.

“They arrived together – brand numbers V217 and V218 and they are both absolute monstrosities,” Fownes said.