Retirement is a serious option for Alcopop, the Group One winner who ran the race of his life in the Hong Kong Cup.

Weighing up Alcopop's future as the veteran completes quarantine after a sterling third placing in the Hong Kong Cup, trainer Jake Noonan said it was possible the Mackinnon Stakes winner had run his last race.

"It might be good to let him go out on a high rather than keep him running around," Stephens told Radio Sport National.

"We don't want to do too much with him. He is eight years old and we want to make sure he's got a good quality of life afterwards.

"We'll sort of play it as it comes and see what happens."

Alcopop remains burdened by the possibility the leg he fractured last year still needs to be monitored closely.

"He's sound and everything at the moment but at the same time that knee that he has fractured, it's been a little bit of a battle with that so you don't want to be putting too much pressure on that," Stephens said.

"He definitely won't be coming in for the autumn.

"We can give him a good four months and see what he looks like then."

He said because Alcopop had shown he could run well with pain, a "conservative" approach was needed.

"He's no oil painting but at the same time he's got that high pain threshold so you've got to be pretty careful - you don't want him to break down in the end," he said.