Golden Sixty vs. Romantic Warrior in HK Gold Cup

The connections of Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior resisted the lure of Saudi Arabia and, instead, send their stars against one another for just the second time in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) Feb. 26 at Sha Tin Racecourse.

As in their first meeting, distance will be a question.

Golden Sixty is a two-time winner of the Hong Kong Mile (G1) while Romantic Warrior was the star of December's international races with a brilliant victory in the Hong Kong Cup (G1) at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles).

They faced off for the first time in January in the Stewards Cup (G1) with Golden Sixty prevailing over 1,600 meters (about 1 mile), arguably his best trip. The Gold Cup is 2,000 meters, clearly Romantic Warrior's wheelhouse.

Both horses, though, are versatile and both have won the Hong Kong Derby at 2,000 meters. 

The outcome will be a key to deciding local Horse of the Year honors. Golden Sixty has won that honor for the past two seasons and Romantic Warrior's trainer, Danny Shum, reckons his 5-year-old will be pressed to take out the 7-year-old champ.

"I think Golden Sixty will be hard to beat," Shum said in the lead-up to the showdown. "We have to respect him. He's a genius horse and it's a hard race, for sure. We'll keep it simple. Fingers crossed."

The simple formula, Shum indicated, will see Romantic Warrior waiting behind the pace early.

"It all depends on the draw but he should be able to sit third, fourth, or fifth," the trainer said. "He's good. He's happy. There's been no problems."

 Golden Sixty's mentor, Francis Liu, issued a similar report.

"He's still healthy, everything is fine and I hope he can handle the distance," Liu said of Golden Sixty. "He has before. He's stepping up in distance so he needs to relax. I think he's more relaxed and he seems much better."

Five others lining up against the local stars, all with credentials of their own, are Money Catcher, Tourbillon Diamond, Ka Ying Star, Glorious Dragon and Panfield. 

Tourbillon Diamond, also from Shum's stable, holds an entry for the Dubai Turf (G1) at 1,800 meters at Meydan Dubai World Cup (G1) night and the trainer said that option remains on the table.

"We'll see how he runs in this race and whether we stick to that plan and go to Dubai or not," Shum said.

The third of Hong Kong's current big three, California Spangle, is preparing for the March 19 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (G1) at 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs) where he is expected to face the likes of Wellington and Lucky Sweynesse. California Spangle defeated Golden Sixty by a neck in the Hong Kong Mile (G1) in December.

The co-feature on the Feb. 26 program is the Hong Kong Classic Cup, middle leg of the 4-Year-Old Classic Series that winds up with the Hong Kong Derby.

The first leg of the series, the Hong Kong Classic Mile, produced an upset as Voyage Bubble led all the way to a 1 1/4-length victory with Australian sensation Jamie Kah riding. Tuchel was second and the lukewarm favorite, Packing Treadmill, third. Voyage Bubble and Tuchel return but Packing Treadmill is absent.