'He'll enjoy it' - Exultant homecoming to Ballygallon Stud for Hong Kong legend
Group 1 winner returns to breeder Belinda Strudwick after stellar career
The December fog has yet to lift the veil it has cast over the Nore Valley, although sunrise was several hours ago. The beauty of the rolling hills through which the swollen river meanders towards the sea is burnished by the last copper leaves of autumn clinging grimly to their branches, despite the twinkle of Christmas lights in the villages and houses dotted on the hillside.
The contrast with Hong Kong's high-rise city, the South China Sea dazzling with the reflected glow of hundreds of millions of lights, the streets struggling to contain the noise of seven million people, is staggering.
What unites the two disparate vistas is a champion - Exultant - who was Hong Kong's Horse of the Year for the 2019-2020 season.
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