Golden Sixty extends winning streak to 12 by claiming second career G1 scalp in the Stewards’ Cup
Not even a slipped saddle and muddling tempo were enough to halt Golden Sixty’s (Medaglia D’Oro) winning streak as the Hong Kong superstar posted a dramatic 12th successive victory after scrambling to narrow triumph in yesterday’s Stewards’ Cup (Gr 1, 1600m) at Sha Tin.
Undefeated since July 2019, Golden Sixty responded doggedly to Vincent Ho’s desperate urgings to deny veteran Southern Legend (Not A Single Doubt) by a head with Ka Ying Star (Cityscape) another half a length away in third.
“They went pretty slow all the way, actually, so he was a little keen and he was pulling a little bit and then everyone sprinted home,” Ho said.
“I knew I would still get there, but it was quite close.”
Ho said he was inconvenienced in the straight after his saddle shifted.
“The saddle slipped back a little bit at the 300 metres but it was still ok but it was not as comfortable for me and Golden Sixty, of course,” Ho said.
“But top athletes, top horses need to overcome all kinds of different circumstances. Something you can’t predict but you have to be ready for that.”
Edging closer to Silent Witness’ (EL Moxie) Hong Kong record of 17 consecutive wins, Golden Sixty never caused any doubts in Ho’s mind despite the slender margin over the admirable Southern Legend, a tigerish eight-year-old who rarely under-performs.
“Happy with this performance, of course,” Ho said. “Thank you to Francis (Lui) and all his team for all the hard work.
“Without them, this does not happen.”
Lui admitted he was concerned as Golden Sixty worked through his gears, clocking 21.80s for the final 400 metres as Southern Legend shaped to post a huge upset.
“I was a bit worried,” he said. “The pace was a bit slow.
“I feel ok now after the race.”
Lui said the Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) – the second leg of the Triple Crown – was likely to be Golden Sixty’s next competitive outing.
“We’ll just see how he recovers,” Lui said, politely rejecting suggestions the best galloper in Hong Kong’s winning streak was building pressure.
“Not really, Golden Sixty brings a lot of joy,” he said.
Silent Witness, Hong Kong’s greatest sprinter, notched 17 wins between 2002 and 2005, when he was finally beaten by Bullish Luck (Royal Academy) in the 2005 Champions’ Mile (Listed, 1600m).
Hot King Prawn lands elusive G1 with Centenary Sprint Cup triumph
Hot King Prawn (Denman) washed away months of frustration and doubt with an emphatic performance to claim his first Group 1 title with victory in yesterday’s Centenary Sprint Cup (Gr 1, 1200m).
Placed three times at elite level, the enigmatic grey delivered in copybook style for Joao Moreira to provide trainer John Sjze with his fourth consecutive triumph in the feature, having previously won with D B Pin (Darci Brahma) in 2018 and Beat The Clock (Hinchinbrook) in 2019 and again last year.
Regency Legend (Pins) charged from well back in the field to snatch second, a length and three-quarters behind the easy winner and just a head in front of Big Party (Exceed And Excel), who filled third spot.
Having nursed Hot King Prawn back from life-threatening colic in 2019, the sight of the steely grey cruising to clear-cut victory after stalking the speed set by Voyage Warrior (Declaration Of War) brought immense satisfaction to Size, who continues an irresistible mid-season surge.
“There was some frustration previously that he hasn’t won a Group 1 but in fairness he has run into some very smart horses in the last two or three years,” Size said, referring to the gelding’s previous six Group 1 attempts.
“He was able to do his best today.
“You couldn’t have written the script any more perfectly and Joao did exactly what was expected and so did the horse and he had an easy win.
“He always gives his best.”
Winner of nine of his first ten starts in Hong Kong, Hot King Prawn underwent colic surgery in 2019 amid doubts he would ever return to the track.
“When (veterinarian) Paul Robinson operated on him for the surgery, it was a case of ‘Will he come back at all?’” Size said.
“I ran him ten months after that and he ran well the first day, he ran well the second day and he’s run well ever since.”
Moreira was jubilant post-race.
“Good horses make a jockey’s life much easier and no doubt this bloke made my job easier today,” he said.
“He’s just done everything so professionally and, of course, we had a smooth run through, but I’ve got to highlight that John has got this horse to be so consistent – only champion trainers can do that.
“Riding for him is a pleasure. It’s no surprise he won today. I thought today would be his day because circumstances would be in his favour.
“The horse has given himself so much chance, performed so many times but he hasn’t got there, but today was the day.
“It’s a great success. He gave us the feeling that he was capable but, unfortunately, he took a little long.
“This horse is very straight-forward, very sound and I could not ask for a better horse today.
“He won today and the best thing is that I believe there is more to come from him.”
Excellent Proposal leads Size one-two in Hong Kong Classic Mile
Excellent Proposal (Exceed And Excel) rose to the top of Hong Kong’s four-year-old pecking order with an impressive win in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) yesterday, a result that strengthened trainer John Size’s hand for the remaining two legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, the Hong Kong Classic Cup (Listed, 1800m) and the Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m).
Size saddled two of Hong Kong’s brightest talents in the first leg of the three-race age-restricted series and they both sparkled, finishing first and second: Excellent Proposal bounced back to his budding best, while Lucky Express (Toronado) displayed his customary tenacity and vigor.
“I ran a few tests over him (Excellent Proposal) to see if there was anything amiss but I couldn’t find anything and I galloped on the Saturday and trialled him on the Tuesday there was nothing untoward going on with the horse at all – I was always of the opinion that he needed a race to switch him on,” the 11-time champion trainer said.
The son of Exceed And Excel (Danehill) won three races on the bounce this season ranging from 1400 metres to 1800 metres, before returning a weakening 11th-placed effort last start following a three-month freshen-up.
“He has a very good temperament, he is a very quiet horse and he probably just missed the competition – he hadn’t raced for three months and it looks like that is correct because today he savaged the line, he knew what he was doing and he was there to win the race,” Size said.
The Australian-bred chestnut arrived in Hong Kong as a PP (Privately Purchased Horse) on a rating of 75 and now will find himself entrenched in triple figures following yesterday’s success.
“Early in the season in September and October I had to ask him for something to see if he was actually capable of running the distance and his last win over 1800 metres was the deciding factor that we should probably run him in the series.
“So, therefore I needed to give him some time off to recharge his batteries and get a bit of maturity and strength into him physically,” Size said.
Excellent Proposal positioned third-last in the 13-runner contest, peeled wide under Blake Shinn at the 300-metre mark to quicken decisively, clocking the fastest final 400 metres of the race in 23.39s, on his way to an overall time of 1m 33.81s.
“I think at this point I am happy with the outcome so far and he’ll just continue on to the next two legs and hopefully he can be competitive in them as well,” Size said.
As for Lucky Express, the ex-Australian galloper was also posted close to the tail of the field along near to his stablemate but instead, settled for an inside run, weaving into second place under Karis Teetan.
“You’d have to say that’s a pleasing effort from him, he’s had three runs over the mile and although he has been beaten in three of them he has acquitted himself in all three.
“Today with the luxury of a little bit of pace in the race he was able to settle and really go to sleep actually so therefore his sprint comes into play in the finish of the race he is able to use his power,” Size said.
The 94-rater has hit the ground running in Hong Kong with seven top-three efforts from nine starts, including one win and will most likely push on to the second leg of the series.
“At the moment I’ll have a closer look at the performance and the running of the race tomorrow but it’s certainly likely that he’ll run in the Classic Cup,” Size said.
The win was the second of a treble for Size who earlier claimed the Centenary Sprint Cup with Hot King Prawn before Sight Success (Magnus) remained unbeaten with victory in the finale, the Class 3 Peniaphobia Handicap (1200m).