Australian bred HK superstar Golden Sixty extended his unbeaten run to 13 straight wins with victory in the Group I Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Golden Sixty wins the G1 HK Gold Cup - image HKJC
However, Hong Kong’s highest rated horse was forced to spare no effort as he had to dig deep to add a third consecutive Group 1 to his glittering record which now stands at 16 wins from 17 starts, four shy of Silent Witness’ record 17 consecutive wins.
Dropped out to his customary position at the rear of the field, the Medaglia d’Oro gelding began his surge in the straight but the challenge from classy Pierro gelding Furore on the inside required jockey Vincent Ho to call on everything that Golden Sixty could give and, it proved just enough in a time of 2m 0.25s by a short head, the smallest margin of any of his wins.
“I was quite confident that I would stay ahead of them but we fought hard – it wasn’t easy, it was a bit unexpected to be that close.
“I was just worried about the horse to the inside of him because Golden Sixty laid in a bit, he would have won easier if he didn’t do that,” Ho said.
“Once he went past Exultant he wanted to lay in – it made it difficult for me but it’s still a victory,” the 30-year-old added.
The victory was both a first in the Gold Cup for trainer Francis Lui and jockey Vincent Ho.
“I think you can’t really change the horse’s character – when he passed the third horse (Exultant), Golden Sixty thinks he has finished the job, but there’s another horse on the inside,” Lui said.
The 131-rater is now only two wins shy of Beauty Generation’s single-season record of eight and, he has the first two legs of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown in the bag after claiming last month’s G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m).
“I will think about the third leg of the Triple Crown, we also have a race in April in mind,” Lui said referencing FWD Champions Day.
The third and final leg of the Triple Crown is the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) on 23 May and, if successful stepping up to 12 furlongs in three months time, he could become the second horse after River Verdon in the 1993/94 racing season to win the Triple Crown.
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Golden Sixty was a $300,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale purchase for his trainer from the Riversley Park draft and was a super successful pinhook having been sourced from the Element Hill draft at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale for $120,000.
Golden Sixty is the best of four winners from US bred Irish Group III winner Gaudeamus (USA), a Distorted Humor mare from the family of Group I stars Bosra Sham and Hector Protector.
Gaudeamus has a yearling filly by Capitalist that was sold by Element Hill at Magic Millions for $425,000 to the bid of All Winners Thoroughbreds..
She was covered las spring by Medaglia D’Oro’s Golden Slipper winning son Vancouver so will produce a three-quarter sibling to Golden Sixty this year.
