Fairy King Prawn Recovering from Surgery

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Fairy King Prawn, a two-time Horse the Year in Hong Kong, underwent surgery Friday to repair an injured suspensory ligament and splint bone. The Australian-bred gelded son of Danehill is reported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to have made a successful recovery from the anaesthetic and will be monitored through a recovery period expected to last several months.

American Dr. Robert Lewis performed the operation, which required the removal of a portion of the fractured splint bone and an injection in the strained ligament. The injury precluded Fairy King Prawn from running in the Hong Kong Mile, an event in which he finished second -- by a nose -- to Sunline in 2000.

Fairy King Prawn has won 12 of 26 career races for earnings of just over $4.6 million. In addition to being Horse of the Year in Hong Kong in 2000 and 2001, he has also been named champion sprinter there three times and top miler twice. He won four of seven races in 2001, including the $6,204,000 Stewards' Cup. He also finished second to Jim and Tonic in the Dubai Duty Free (UAE-II), beaten by a neck in that race in which Sunline finished third. The foal of 1995 was bred by Tremon Thoroughbreds VIC.

Fairy King Prawn will need to pass a veterinary exam before being allowed to race in Hong Kong again.

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