Sha Tin: Beauty Generation gives 18 pounds to Golden Sixty in Celebration Cup

The two-time champ meets the wannabe champ, and they are not fighting on a level playing field in the Group 3 Celebration Cup Handicap on Sunday at Sha Tin.

The handicap weights work strongly in favor of Golden Sixty when he faces Beauty Generation in the 1,400-meter Celebration Cup. Beauty Generation is rated 130, the highest rating in Hong Kong, and must carry 133 pounds in the Celebration Cup. Golden Sixty, rated 112, gets 18 pounds from a rival three years his senior.

Beauty Generation was Hong Kong’s horse of the year in 2017-2018 and again during the 2018-2019 season. Exultant won that award for the 2019-2020 season, but Beauty Generation was very good again then, too, though not the invincible force he once appeared to be on the Hong Kong circuit.

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

Beauty Generation won three of eight starts but seemed to find his best on the back end of his campaign, winning twice and finishing second to cap his season in the Champions Mile, a race in which he turned in the best performance before losing by a nose to Southern Legend, another runner Sunday. Beauty Generation has won the Celebration Cup three years in a row, carrying 133 pounds, including regular rider Zac Purton, to victory in 2018 and 2019.

Yet this is a much different comeback for Beauty Generation, whose former trainer, John Moore, hit mandatory retirement age for Hong Kong trainers last season and has returned to his native Australia. Sunday’s race marks Beauty Generation’s first for new trainer David Hayes.

“Obviously he’s had a stable change,” Purton told Hong Kong Jockey Club publicity. “He’s got a different training regime but the horse seems to be really well.”

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

Beauty Generation breaks from post 1, right next to Golden Sixty. Golden Sixty has won 10 of his 11 starts and swept through Hong Kong’s 4-year-old championship series last season, capturing the Hong Kong Classic Mile, the Hong Kong Classic Cup over 1,800 meters, and the Hong Kong Derby over 2,000 meters in his most recent race.

“Golden Sixty is a bit stronger both mentally and physically,” jockey Vincent Ho told HKJC publicity. “Mentally he’s a lot calmer this year. It’s exciting, even being back on for gallops.”

The Celebration Cup goes as the eighth of 10 races, post time 4:35 a.m. Eastern on a card that begins at 1 a.m. Eastern. Wagering and live video can be found at DRFBets.com.