Leading European juvenile Atomic Force to continue racing career in Hong Kong

One of Europe's most promising two-year-olds, Atomic Force, has left Kevin Ryan's yard to continue his racing career in Hong Kong.

The son of Cotai Glory was gelded after his debut second at Musselburgh in April and has since run up three straight wins, culminating in a superb display in the Prix Robert Papin last month.

Initially owned by Hambleton Racing, Atomic Force was purchased by the Hong Kong-based Siu Pak Kwan prior to his Group 2 success with a view to departing European shores at the end of his juvenile season.

Bloodstock agent Alastair Donald brokered the sale of Atomic Force, and said: "He was bought after his the Group 3 win at Chantilly and was left in the Group 2 as that race made plenty of sense. The fact he's a gelding limits his Group 1 options in Europe.

"He couldn't run in races like the Prix Morny or the Phoenix Stakes, so the only real race for him was the Abbaye, but the owner didn't really want to wait until October."

Atomic Force recorded an Racing Post Racing of 109 for his Papin success, placing him a 1lb shy of the two best juveniles in Britain and Ireland this season by the same metric, Armor and Go Bears Go.

Kevin Ryan: trainer has lost exciting juvenile Atomic Force earlier than expectedCredit: Edward Whitaker

"They wanted him in Hong Kong, which is understandable," added Donald, who said a new trainer for Atomic Force had yet to be confirmed.

"It would have been nice to get a couple more runs in Europe, but it can take horses a while to acclimatise and get settled over there.

"He was bought for Hong Kong so he was never going to stay beyond his two-year-old career. As such there was only going to be one or two more runs in Europe anyway.

"The race options for him are quite limited, so the owners felt there was more for them to lose than gain by keeping him in Europe."

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