Hong Kong's stars will be out in three stakes at Sha Tin

In sprints, at a mile, and in routes, California Spangle, Golden Sixty, and Romantic Warrior have been nearly impossible to beat in Hong Kong in recent years, which is why they are favored to win Group 1 races at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday.

Golden Sixty, the Horse of the Year in Hong Kong for the last three seasons, will be the lowest-price of the trio when he starts at around even-money in the $2.8 million Champions Mile.

A win would be Golden Sixty’s fifth consecutive victory in a Group 1 race. Golden Sixty has won the last three runnings of the Champions Mile.

The Champions Mile, which drew a field of 11, will be the first start for Golden Sixty since the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile on Sha Tin’s leading international program in December.

An 8-year-old gelding who has won a remarkable 26 of 30 starts in Hong Kong, Golden Sixty was sidelined briefly earlier this year with a leg injury, resulting in the lengthy layoff.

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Weather conditions may affect Golden Sixty’s chances. There has been substantial rain in Hong Kong recently, with more expected in coming days. Golden Sixty has thrived on good or firm courses. He was third on yielding turf behind Romantic Warrior in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles in February 2022, the last time he raced on such a surface.

In the Champions Mile, Golden Sixty will start from post 7, an ideal draw for his late rally. The geldings Beauty Joy and Beauty Eternal, first and second in the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy at a mile on April 7, are rated as contenders. They were fifth and sixth behind Golden Sixty in the Hong Kong Mile in December.

Romantic Warrior, who has won three Group 1 races in Australia and Hong Kong in his last three starts, is part of a field of 11 in Sunday’s $3.57 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles, the richest of the Group 1 races on the 10-race program.

Romantic Warrior, who has won the last two runnings of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, won the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia, last October, that country’s leading weight-for-age race at 1 1/4 miles.

In his lone start this year, Romantic Warrior closed from slightly off the pace to win the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles in February as a heavy favorite.

While Golden Sixty is expected to dominate the Champions Mile, Romantic Warrior faces a tougher assignment in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup against Massive Sovereign and Prognosis.

Prognosis, based in Japan, was second in the 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. A winner of 7 of 13 starts who runs from well off the pace, Prognosis won his lone start this year in the Group 2 Kinko Sho at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan on March 10.

Massive Sovereign will have his group stakes debut in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup following a win in the Hong Kong Derby against 4-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin on March 24.

California Spangle has already had an international campaign this year, recording a game win in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint at six furlongs in Dubai on March 30.

California Spangle often sets the pace. The $2.8 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize at six furlongs will be California Spangle’s first start at the distance at Sha Tin since a win in a minor handicap in January 2022.

A winner of 13 of 25 starts, California Spangle will be tested in the stretch by Mad Cool, who won the Group 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at six furlongs at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan on March 24. Victor the Winner, third behind Mad Cool on March 24, will pose an early challenge to California Spangle.

The Sha Tin program begins at 12:45 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, or 9:45 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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