Golden Sixty rallies to win 13th straight in Hong Kong Gold Cup

Golden Sixty made it 13 straight wins, but only by the narrowest of margins as he got home by a nose Sunday at Sha Tin in the Group 1, $1.55 million Hong Kong Gold Cup.

In a slow-paced, stilted affair over 2,000 meters – probably a longer trip than ideal for this crack miler – Hong Kong’s best horse extended his winning streak with a thrilling victory over Furore.

Time Warp galloped along on a glacial pace around the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch, going an opening 800 meters in 51.26 seconds, far slower than par, before Columbus County and jockey Blake Shinn left their spot at the back of the line to come wide, challenge the pacesetter, and quicken the tempo. That not only sped up the pace but turned the race shape somewhat messy.

Vincent Ho on Golden Sixty was forced to wheel three deep without any cover partway around the far turn when the horse he followed, Playa del Puente, began backing up. Exultant, who tracked the leader, came off the fence before the 500-meter mark, allowing Furore to slip up the rail, cut the corner, and kick for home as Golden Sixty rallied wide. The sprint to the finish was on, but as Golden Sixty pushed past Exultant he shifted toward the inside, forcing Ho to focus as much on keeping his mount from fouling Exultant as on finishing strongly. With a final 400 meters in 22.35 seconds, Golden Sixty still managed to get up and keep his streak alive.

:: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming

“When he passed [Exultant], Golden Sixty thinks he has finished the job, but there’s another horse on the inside,” trainer Francis Lui said.

Golden Sixty, the heavy favorite, was timed in 2:00.25 over a good course. The 5-year-old Australian-bred gelding, by Medaglia d’Oro out of Gaudeamus, by Distorted Humor, now boasts a record of 16-15-0-0 having made all his starts in Hong Kong. During a perfect 4-year-old campaign, he swept all three legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series. Lui plans to race Golden Sixty again April 25, when he would have the QE II Cup over 2,000 meters or the Champions Mile, both Group 1s, as options.

Waikuku was an easy winner of Sunday’s other Group 1, the $1.55 million Silver Jubilee over 1,400 meters. Under Joao Moreira, Waikuku stalked the pace while in hand before racing his final 400 meters in 21.84, blasting to a 1 1/4-length win over Southern Legend while clocking 1:20.78. The victory was the 1,300th in Hong Kong for trainer John Size, who arrived in 2001 from Australia. Waikuku is a 6-year-old Irish-bred by Harbour Watch out of London Plane, by Danehill Dancer. Cutting back from one-mile races for his first start at 1,400 meters since October 2019, Waikuku won for the first time this Hong Kong season.

:: Download DRF's Guide to Betting Hong Kong Racing

Meanwhile, the 4-year-old division remained unsettled as Healthy Happy posted a front-running 22-1 upset in the $1.55 million Hong Kong Classic Cup. The winner had been seventh in the first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, the Hong Kong Classic Mile, won by Excellent Proposal. Excellent Proposal ran a good race Sunday, closing fast from 11th to finish a close fourth, but Alexis Badel, riding Healthy Happy, backed up the pace during the middle stages of this one-turn, 1,800-meter contest, and his mount had plenty left for the finish.

Healthy Happy, an Australian import, won for the third time in this, his first Hong Kong season. Trained by Frankie Lor, Healthy Happy, who was timed in 1:47.21, is by Zoustar out of Lady Lakshmi, by Lohnro. During a five-start Australian career, he was called Leviathan.

Russian Emperor turned in a very encouraging performance surging late between horses to get his nose down for second, Shadow Hero edging Excellent Proposal for third. Tourbillon Diamond, the tepid favorite, finished fifth, while farther back, both Sky Darci, who was seventh, and Lucky Express, who finished eighth, ran into traffic during the mad dash through the homestretch. Expect to see many of these horses return next month for the Hong Kong Derby over 2,000 meters.