HORSE racing has some wonderful stories, but perhaps the biggest one over the past year or so has been the exploits of Spirit Dancer for his owner-breeder Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Manchester United manager.
The seven-year-old son of Frankel took his career earnings past the £2 million mark when landing back-to-back renewals of the Bahrain International Trophy last month.
Ferguson and fellow owner Ged Mason were celebrating in the Bahrain paddock once again and their sights are now firmly set on Sunday’s Group One LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.
Looking back on that victory, trainer Richard Fahey said: “He was very well and we were very happy with him. It was a tougher race than the year before, they went four and a half seconds faster than they did in 2023, so he’s definitely run faster. He had to win to come here and I’m delighted he did.”
It has been a remarkable tale and Fahey is clearly hugely proud of what his stable star has done.
“He was an extremely backward horse in the early days,” he said. “He’s always shown plenty. He’s gone past the expectations we thought but we always thought he was a decent horse.
“I would say his last run was his best ever, and he’s been lightly raced this season. He had a few chips we took out of a fetlock joint and they’re grand now. He’s not a horse we overtrain at home.
Travelling clearly comes easy to Spirit Dancer and connections are happy to get the passports out again.
“When we’re travelling horses, they get better looked after than anyone,” said Fahey. “They don’t go to the bar drinking gin and tonics! It’s a small world the racing world these days.”
Speaking about the horse’s famous owner, Fahey sees similarities between his former role and training racehorses.
“Sir Alex is very engaged and he gets our job. When we were in Bahrain, it was a night meeting so I gave him a canter in the morning. I told Sir Alex and he said ‘every evening match we used to warm the players up earlier in the day.’ It’s amazing how the sports are quite similar.”
While last month’s win was most likely a career best, Fahey is under no illusions about the task at hand on Sunday, taking on Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior.
“I think every horse would struggle with Romantic Warrior,” he said. “He just looks the real deal, there don’t seem to be any chinks in his armour. We’d need him to have an off day to beat him, but you never know – it’s racing. If he can finish in the first five, I’d be over the moon.”
Win, lose or draw, at Sha Tin on Sunday morning, Spirit Dancer will always be the first name on Sir Alex’s teamsheet.