Not even a slipped saddle and muddling tempo were enough to halt Golden Sixty’s (Medaglia D’Oro) burgeoning winning streak as the Hong Kong superstar posted a dramatic 12th successive victory after scrambling to narrow triumph in the Gr.1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) in Hong Kong on Sunday night.
Undefeated since July 7 2019, Golden Sixty responded doggedly to jockey Vincent Ho’s desperate urgings to deny veteran Southern Legend (Not A Single Doubt) by a mere head with Ka Ying Star (Cityscape) three quarters of a length further back 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 300m 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 kind of different circumstances. Something you can’t predict but you have to ready for that.”
Edging closer to Silent Witness’ 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.
“Happy with this performance, of course,” Ho said. “Thank you to Francis (Lui) (trainer) and all his team for all the hard work.
“Without them, this does not happen.”
Francis Lui admitted he was concerned as Golden Sixty worked through his gears, clocking 21.80s for the final 400m 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 Gr.1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (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.
Golden Sixty was purchased by Lui out of Riversley Park’s 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Yearling Sale draft for $300,000.
The now five-year-old did his early work in New Zealand under the care of Matamata trainer Graham Richardson who recalls the gelding showing exceptional promise as a younger horse.
“Cameron Lammas rode Golden Sixty at the trials one day,” Richardson said. “I said to his owners jokingly that they should keep him here in New Zealand as he would win the Derby.
“They decided against it but went and won the Derby over there.
“There was something special about him right from day one.” Golden Sixty has now won 15 of his 16 starts and amassed over HK$59,685,000 (NZ$10,712,717) in prize money.
