Inspiration pulls Sha Tin upset

Inspiration could be Dubai-bound after posting a 14-1 upset in the $580,000 Centenary Sprint Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday.

The winner of the Hong Kong Sprint in December, Inspiration beat Yellow Diamond to the line by a half-length in the five-furlong Group 1 dash, in which the odds-on Sacred Kingdom could manage only fourth in his first start in nine months.

Ridden by Gerald Mosse, Inspiration chased in midpack before accelerating at the quarter pole and taking the lead at the eighth pole, from where he was hand-ridden to the line. Sacred Kingdom, who had won this race last year, found himself stuck on the slower far side rail on Sha Tin's straight turf course and came home 1 1/4 lengths behind third-place Enthused, 3 1/4 lengths behind the winner. Inspiration's time for the five furlongs on good turf was 56.91.

Trained by John Moore, Inspiration has received an invitation to run in the Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 28, in what would be his first attempt on dirt. Before plans for Dubai are finalized, however, he will run in the Chairman's Sprint Prize, a six-furlong Hong Kong Group 1 turf race at Sha Tin on Feb. 22, when he is expected to be challenged once again by Sacred Kingdom.