Golden Sixty (left) | HKJC photo
Via Alan Carasso
After overcoming a potentially explosive early-season group handicap where he was forced to admit a lot of weight, the reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d’Oro) made his highly anticipated debut when he was 6 years old at the G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin Racecourse.
By all accounts, it’s a much more mature version of the Golden Sixty, who was last seen taking down the G1 FWD Champions Mile nearly seven months ago to take his winning streak to 14, three games. won less than the record held by the legendary Silent Witness. (Aus). One of the horses to have done so in his trials before, the bay had brought his opponents to the sword and was undefeated in three morning fights against this returnee. He will be healthy enough to dispatch a familiar cast on his way to the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile on December 12.
“He is good, he is healthy. He’s more relaxed as you can see even at a gallop,” coach Francis Lui told the HKJC notes team.
“I think he’s getting more and more mature all the time. He’s very fine. He’s good. We have the race this Sunday and then the Hong Kong Mile and then we’ll see what we do after that,” he added.
Francis Lui shared the latest on Golden Sixty (R7) when the bright son of Medaglia d’Oro got his 15th consecutive win tomorrow afternoon at Sha Tin. #HKIR #HKracing pic.twitter.com/P7QsMgI0Ia
– HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) November 20, 2021
On Sunday, the G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200mT) co-feature also attracted a pair of top athletes, who raced for first place in the form of Wellington (Aus) (All too hard {Aus}) and evergreen tree Hot King Shrimp (Aus) (Denman {Aus}). Wellington won four of his six starting games last term, ending the season with a 1/2 loss to a rematch opponent. Computer Patches (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) during the April 25 G1 Presidents Sprint. Hot King Prawn was the defending champion of the event and was relegated from seventh place as favorites. Favorite in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint for long-term money- past the top tier tally in the Centenary Sprint Cup. He was last seen finishing in 5th place, four stages behind Wellington, with a Class 1 handicap by course and distance on March 13.
“He’s always been a pretty easy horse to train and of course, he’s a very good horse so he always gives me a good feeling,” says Wellington jockey Alexis Badel. “He might need the first part, he might need to run but he looks good, fresh and happy. His actions are also good.”
Panfield (Chi) (Look at luck), finished third in last year’s BMW Hong Kong race, claimed the championship title in first place with victory at the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400mT) in May and was very impressive to have won the G3 Sha Tin Trophy H. with an under-score of 1600 meters Oct. 17. All five-year-olds were marching horses in the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup in a much more fitting 10-lap ride, the race which he will use as a stepping stone for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup – the most prolific event on the International Day of December 12 – or the G1 Longines Hong Kong Championship over 2400 metres.
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