Golden Sixty Sets New Group One Record

Karaka-sourced megastar Golden Sixty (Medaglia d’Oro) rewrote Hong Kong racing’s record books with his third consecutive HK$20m Group One FWD Champions Mile (1600m) triumph at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Previously equal with fellow Karaka graduate Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock) on eight wins at the elite level, Golden Sixty is now the only horse in Hong Kong history to win nine Group One races.

Bought for $300,000 from Riversley Park’s draft at the 2017 Ready to Run Sale, Golden Sixty has had 29 starts for 25 wins, three placings and career earnings of HK$147.9m. That’s the equivalent of NZ$30.4m, which is more than 100 times his purchase price.

After settling close up in third or fourth spot through the early stages of Sunday’s history-making race, Golden Sixty and Vincent Ho delighted the 50,000-strong crowd with what has become a customary finishing flourish down the Sha Tin straight. The seven-year-old quickly asserted his superiority, dashing to the lead and kicking clear to score by a length and a half.

“All the credit goes to Golden Sixty – I’m nothing without him,” Ho said. “Thank you to all of the racing fans and, of course, I am really grateful to be on this horse again. He’s such a superstar and I’m just very grateful and very happy for Golden Sixty. Now he looks around and enjoys the crowd and his home turf.

“I told myself before this race to try and enjoy every moment with Golden Sixty, because he is seven now and we don’t know when he is going to retire. But it’s the best way to enjoy every single step with him.

“It’s always my honour to be on him. I’m happy for the horse and happy for the crowds that come to support him. He’s just an amazing horse. He’s going as well as ever. There’s no sign of him dropping in performance.”

The two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year is trained by Francis Lui.

"He’s such a good horse with a good fighting heart – he gives me confidence,” Lui said. “Vincent had his own plan, I didn’t disturb him. Before the race, we didn’t talk about how to run, because he knows this horse well and I don’t have to teach him.

“Now that he’s seven, we just keep a little bit longer in between races. Before, we could keep racing – even some of the Group Three races – but now we just pick the Group One races.”

Vendor	Riversley Park Ltd
Purchaser	Mr F Lui (Hong Kong)
Breeding	Medaglia d’Oro – Gaudeamus
Sale	Lot 136, 2017 Ready to Run Sale, $300,000
Bred by	Asco International Pty Ltd, Qld

 

Photos: Hong Kong Jockey Club