Sacred Kingdom scores in Sprint Cup

Sacred Kingdom won but Good Ba Ba came a cropper in a pair of Hong Kong Group 1 races at Sha Tin on Sunday. The co-highest-rated sprinter in the world, Sacred Kingdom upheld his reputation with a handy score in the five-furlong, $579,100 Centenary Sprint Cup, while Good Ba Ba finished third behind Fellowship in the one-mile, $1 million Stewards Cup.

Sacred Kingdom rallied to lead at the eighth pole to defeat his Ricky Yiu-trained stablemate Ultra Fantasy by three-quarters of a length in the Centenary. Ridden by Brent Prebble, the 2-5 shot sped the straight five furlongs in 55.37 on good ground in following up on his Dec. 13 Hong Kong Sprint triumph. One World, a half-length second in the Hong Kong Sprint, was third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Sacred Kingdom, who is being considered for races in Singapore, Dubai, and Japan after a tilt at Sha Tin's six-furlong Chairman's Sprint Prize on Feb. 21.

Fresh from his third straight victory in the Hong Kong Mile on Dec. 13, Good Ba Ba couldn't quite get the job done in the Stewards Cup. Breaking widest of all in post 14, he lagged behind early, and although he closed well, was still a head and a half-length behind at the wire. Third in the Hong Kong Mile, the victorious Fellowship had previously taken the Group 2 International Mile Trial, so this victory at 9.95-1 was hardly unexpected. Trained by Paul O'Sullivan and ridden by Zac Purton, Fellowship covered the mile in 1:33.96 in defeating Thumbs Up by a head. He will remain in Hong Kong for his next two races in the seven-furlong Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup on March 14 and the Champions Mile on April 25.