Hong Kong Champion Lucky Nine Retired

Lucky Nine, Caspar Fownes and Brett Prebble following the 2011 Hong Kong Sprint | HKJC photo

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Lucky Nine (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}–Birjand {GB}), by Green Desert), a two-time champion sprinter in Hong Kong who won back-to-back runnings of the G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint on foreign soil, has been retired from racing, South China Morning Post reports.

A maiden winner in three European starts when raced as Luck or Design and trained by Andy Oliver, Lucky Nine won the 2011 Hong Kong Classic Mile and was runner-up in the Hong Kong Classic Cup over nine furlongs, but ultimately made his name as a world-class sprinter. The gelding, bred by Darley, scored the first of his three international top-level victories in the 2011 Hong Kong Sprint (VIDEO) and battled his way to consecutive scores in the KrisFlyer in 2013 and 2014. He was a solid third behind fellow Hong Kong raider Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins {Aus}) in search of the three-peat last May. Known more for his tenacity than his brilliance, Lucky Nine was a five-time winner at the domestic Group 1 level in Hong Kong, including the Chairman's Sprint Prize in his championship seasons in 2013 and 2014.

Lucky Nine was campaigned ambitiously by trainer Caspar Fownes and made 11 of his 48 starts overseas during his Hong Kong tenure. An unlucky runner-up in the G2 Centaur S. in 2011, he was a good third to Krypton Factor (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) in the 2012 G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Programmed for an Australian campaign in the fall of 2013, he just missed in the G1 Manikato S. at Moonee Valley and was sixth to Buffering (Aus) (Mossman {Aus}) as the favorite in Flemington's G1 VRC Sprint Classic. Lucky Nine retires with a record of 51-14-9-7 and earnings of $6,652,807.

“He was a horse that always gave his best, he had so many issues but he would just try his heart out every time he ran,” Fownes told SCMP. “He had lovely owners and we have decided that the priority is now finding him a nice home where he can live his life as a happy and healthy horse.”

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