- The six-year-old has been retired to stud after a hugely successful racing career
- Burrows said that Hukum has ‘been an immense horse for me for five seasons’
Owen Burrows has admitted it will be impossible to replace Hukum in his yard after he was retired to stud.
The six-year-old had a remarkable career, winning 11 of his 18 races and provided Burrows with both his first Royal Ascot success, in June 2020, and his first Group One triumph in the 2022 Coronation Cup.
Hukum’s career could have ended after that race, as he suffered a fracture to his hind leg.
But his owner, Sheikha Hissa al Maktoum, allowed him to recuperate and wanted him to race again: the reward was success in this summer’s King George at Ascot in July.
Trainer Burrows said of Hukum, whose younger brother was last season’s champion racehorse Baaeed: ‘He’s been an immense horse for me for five seasons. It’s not often you get one to train that long on the Flat. I’ll be forever in his debt.
Hukum claimed a neck win in the King George George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot
Trainer Owen Burrows said Hukum has ‘been an immense horse for me for five seasons’
‘The King George this year capped it all. It was a hell of a spectacle with two very brave horses giving their all. He’s brought my career to a completely different level.’
There was a possibility that Hukum would have ended his career in Saturday’s QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot but conditions never looked like being suitable with the course braced for bad weather over the next 48 hours.
