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Son of Medaglia d’Oro chalks up fourth Group 1 victory with slender Champions Mile victory
Australian-bred Golden Sixty (5 g Medaglia d'Oro - Gaudeamus by Distorted Humor) consolidated his reputation as the best horse in Hong Kong when extended his unbeaten run to 14, just holding to land his fourth successive and career Group 1 in the Champions Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) at Sha Tin on Saturday.
Trained by Francis Lui and ridden by Vincent Ho, the son of Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado) raced at the back in the early stages, before sweeping round the outside with three furlongs left to cover. After being urged to lead two furlongs from home, it looked as though the five-year-old was going on to post an easy victory.
However, his stablemate More Than This (Dutch Art) was closing with every stride, but ran out of time, finishing a head adrift in second. Australian-bred Southern Legend (Not A Single Doubt) was a further three and a quarter lengths away in third.
The gelding has won 18 of his 17 career starts, with his first top-flight win coming in the Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) last December and he subsequently followed up that win with victories in the Stewards’ Cup (Gr 1, 1600m) on January 24 and Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) on February 21. The gelding’s total career prize-money now stands at HK$77,925,600 (approx. $12,963,759).
“He’s a very good horse – I was a little bit worried but Golden Sixty is that kind of horse, when he passes the other horses he thinks his job is done but then when he saw another runner coming he turned it on again,” Lui said.
Lui was unwilling to commit Golden Sixty to next month’s Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (Gr 1, 2400m), the third and final leg of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown, instead saying he would wait and see how the gelding comes out of Sunday’s victory before making any plans.
“Depends, I will see how the horse recovers and then decide because the Triple Crown is still under consideration, I don’t think the distance is a worry, he’s that kind of horse who will fight no matter what, it just depends on how he recovers,” Lui said.
The gelding would be chanced with becoming the second horse in history to claim Hong Kong’s Triple Crown after River Verdon (Be My Native) in 1994.
The gelding now sits three shy of Silent Witness’ (El Moxie) 17 wins unbeaten streak, a Hong Kong record.
“If I can break the record it would be great but I’m not pushing myself to do so, it depends on the horse, he is a good horse but I don’t want to kill him,” Lui said.
Purchased by Riversley Park and Enigma Farm $120,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2017, the colt was then bought by his trainer for NZ$300,000 at the 2017 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale and he has only been beaten once in his 15 start career, including the landing the Hong Kong Triple Crown in 2020.
Golden Sixty is out of Irish Group 2 winner Gaudeamus (Distorted Humor), making him a half-brother to Listed-placed duo Igitur (Helmet) and Rainbow Connection (Choisir).
Further afield this is the family Group / Grade 3 winners O’Juke (Jukebox Jury) and King Zachary (Curlin) and Listed winners Battle Force (Giant's Causeway), Falconet (Falco) and Moorland (Luxor).
All Winners Thoroughbreds purchased a Capitalist (Written Tycoon) half-sister to Golden Sixty at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale earlier in the year and Gaudeamus has most recently been covered by Coolmore Stud’s son of Medaglia d’Oro, Vancouver, meaning the resulting foal will be a three-quarter sibling to Golden Sixty.
Medaglia d’Oro shuttled to Australia for eight seasons, but did not return in 2018 and he is now represented in Australia by his three sire sons, Vancouver, Astern and Nostradamus.
