Golden Sixty Good as Gold in HK Gold Cup

Golden Sixty was good as gold in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) Feb. 26 at Sha Tin Racecourse.

The Medaglia d'Oro   gelding just about sewed up a third straight Hong Kong Horse of the Year title while defeating his chief rival, Romantic Warrior, in a thrilling edition of the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1).

The late-running victory made the score Golden Sixty 2, Romantic Warrior 0. And by prevailing at Romantic Warrior's preferred distance of 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles), Golden Sixty showed he's still tops at age 7.

There were five other horses in the Gold Cup field but, as expected, they were window dressing. Money Catcher made the pace and led the field around the second turn into the long Sha Tin stretch. Jockey Karis Teetan gave Romantic Warrior his cue at that point and he slipped by Money Catcher to take the lead.

Vincent Ho, meanwhile, had tracked Romantic Warrior throughout and had Golden Sixty right behind him heading for home. Running outside his rival, Golden Sixty steadily closed the gap and got there first by a well-timed head in 1:59.98. Money Catcher held third.

The outcome mirrored that of the Stewards' Cup (G1) in January—a race run at 1,600 meters (about 1 mile), Golden Sixty's sweet spot.

"He was very relaxed today," Ho said of Golden Sixty. "I even had to ask him a little to keep up today in the back straight and, of course, I had another great horse to follow through and ask for the full effort at the 200 (meter mark). I just had to stay close with him (Romantic Warrior) and don't let him get away too far.

"To be honest, I expected the other horse would have beaten us," said Ho, who has professed he considers Golden Sixty best at the mile.

Trainer Francis Lui wasted little time celebrating Golden Sixty's triumph while considering his immediate future. The next race likely is the Chairman's Trophy (G2) at one mile on April 9, then another distance decision on Champions Day April 30—the QE II Cup (G1) at 2,000 meters or the Champions Mile (G1).

Lui and owner Stanley Chan could duck that Champions Day choice as the June 4 Yasuda Kinen (G1) at 1,600 meters at Tokyo Racecourse also is an option.

"It's a difficult consideration," Lui admitted. "I think (it will be Japan) if I plan to run overseas. I have to discuss it with Vincent. But of course he still thinks he's a miler."

Whatever his best distance, Golden Sixty remains a feisty character at age 7, Lui said.

"Honestly, if you go to visit him, he's the same. You have to be careful. He will bite you or he will even kick you. He's always been like that. That's his character," Lui said.

Ho also booted home Super Sunny Sing, the winner of the day's co-featured Hong Kong Classic Cup, the second leg of the Hong Kong Derby series, but said he thinks another winner on the program, Beauty Eternal might be the horse to beat in the big race.

The Derby is a key target for local owners, both for bragging rights and as a pointer to future success. Both Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior have Derby victories on their resumes.

This year's contenders have yet to sort themselves out with the winner of the first leg of the series, Voyage Bubble, reporting sixth in the Classic Cup.

Super Sunny Sing notched his fourth straight Hong Kong win in the Classic Cup and Ho said he is "getting more mentally mature and he's relaxing so well, so he can hopefully go to the Derby. I think Mr. Size's horse will be very hard to beat, but let's see."

That would be the John Size-trained Beauty Eternal, a smashing winner of the Citigold Handicap at 1,600 meters under Zac Purton's ride.

"It was good," Purton said. "It was what I expected. Just let him have a nice bit of exercise on the way through. He got into a lovely spot. He did it easy. He enjoyed it. He pulled up good."

Purton said he feels Beauty Eternal should have no issues stretching out to the 2,000 meters of the Derby.

Yet another potential Derby contender emerged from a Class 3 handicap on the card as Straight Arron bravely wove through traffic to victory under Blake Shinn for trainer Caspar Fownes. Straight Arron started his career in Australia, winning there for trainer Chris Waller, but had been winless in three previous trips in Hong Kong.