Hong Kong's top sprinter Sacred Kingdom has been rated the world's joint leading sprinter in the 2009 World Thoroughbred Rankings unveiled by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), for the period from 1 January to 31 December last year.

The reigning champion sprinter earned a rating of 122 with his dazzling victory in the KrisFlyer International Sprint at Kranji, Singapore last May. This rating places Sacred Kingdom joint 19th overall in the world during 2009, and joint highest-rated sprinter alongside Australian speedster and King's Stand Stakes champion Scenic Blast.

This is the third consecutive year that Sacred Kingdom has led the sprint category, as he was rated top sprinter in the world in 2007 and joint top sprinter with Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Midnight Lute a year later. It is also the seventh consecutive year that a Hong Kong racehorse has topped the Turf Sprint category.

Another home runner Good Ba Ba, who wrote a new record by winning the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Mile for the third time in December, shares the same rating of 122 in the Mile category and the same overall ranking of 19th in the world.

The 2009 World Thoroughbred Rankings, which cover three-year-olds and up, reflect another highly successful year for Hong Kong racing, as a total of 15 locally-based racehorses were rated 115 or above at the end of the calendar year. This figure surpasses the record tally of 13 in the 2008 edition and is the highest to date since Hong Kong earned its first representation in the 1998 classifications.

"The end-of-year World Rankings sum up another outstanding year for Hong Kong racing," said the Club's Executive Director of Racing William A Nader. "On behalf of the Club, I would like to congratulate the connections on showcasing the high quality of our sport and its world-class status."

The panel of the IFHA World Thoroughbred Rankings Conference gave the highest rating of all, 136, to the reigning European Horse of the Year and six-time Group One winner Sea The Stars, for his outstanding display in the Irish Champion Stakes.