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Golden Sixty Secures Third Straight Title As Hong Kong Horse Of The Year

Golden Sixty's record-breaking performance during the 2022/23 racing season saw Hong Kong's champion earn the Horse of the Year title for a third consecutive year at a special presentation held at the Grand Ballroom of the Rosewood Hotel in Hong Kong.

As such, he becomes the first horse in the history of Hong Kong racing to annex three consecutive Horse of the Year crowns.

The Francis Lui-trained 7-year-old's efforts this season also secured a third straight Champion Miler title with his string of outstanding performances in Group 1 mile events.

Golden Sixty had five starts this season, suffering the only defeat in the campaign when beaten by California Spangle in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m). The seven-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro then scored a hat-trick of top-level wins, landing the Stewards' Cup (1600m), Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and FWD Champions Mile (1600m), taking his overall record to 25 wins and three placings from 29 starts and extending his record prize money to HK$147.93 million.

He stands alone as Hong Kong's most prolific Group 1 winner, eclipsing the feats of Beauty Generation by tallying an unmatched nine Group 1 wins after sealing a third FWD Champions Mile win in succession last April.

Golden Sixty's impressive feats this year were reflected in the first edition of the 2023 LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings, in which he topped the list with an international rating of 125 after scoring a Group 1 double in the Stewards Cup and Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup. Currently, Golden Sixty and Lucky Sweynesse sit joint-third behind Equinox and Mostahdaf on an international rating of 125.

The Manfred Man-trained Lucky Sweynesse was named this season's Champion Sprinter and Champion Four-Year-Old. The emerging youngster continued his advance from his 98 rating to becoming a three-time Group 1 winner this term, claiming each leg of Hong Kong's HK$5 million Speed Series: G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize (1200m). The Sweynesse gelding matched Beauty Generation's record for the most wins in a single season when he ended the term in a high note by scoring for the eighth time in the G3 Sha Tin Vase (1200m).

Currently rated 131 locally, Lucky Sweynesse is the highest-rated four-year-old in Hong Kong.

The Danny Shum-trained Romantic Warrior has been crowned this season's Champion Middle-Distance Horse for the second consecutive year by winning the two prominent 10 furlong features in Hong Kong, namely the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m), beating overseas rivals on both occasions. In the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup, the son of Acclamation left a high-class global field trailing in his wake with a dominant performance and in April this year, he confirmed himself among the world's elite with a commanding second straight success in the FWD QEII Cup.

A graduate of the 2021 Hong Kong International Sale as a HK$4.8 million purchase, Romantic Warrior is currently ranked joint-seventh in the LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings with the international rating of 123. His earnings are HK$84.36 million, which includes 10 wins from 14 starts.

The Douglas Whyte-trained Russian Emperor claimed back-to-back Champion Stayer of Hong Kong titles following his tremendous win in the QAT G1 H.H. The Amir Trophy (2400m) in Doha, Qatar. He is the only Hong Kong runner to score in an overseas race this term. Upon returning to Hong Kong, he claimed a second consecutive G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in May.

The John Size-trained Howdeepisyourlove finished his debut season with four wins from 12 starts to be crowned Hong Kong's Champion Griffin. The three-year-old has nine top-three finishes to his name and achieved a career highlight with victory in Class 2. Howdeepisyourlove shot up 44 points and now sits on a career-high rating of 96.

The John Size-trained Beauty Eternal is this season's Most Improved Horse. After starting the campaign rated 52, the Starspangledbanner gelding soared 65 points to 117 after achieving seven wins, one second and two thirds from ten starts in his first season.

John Size was honoured with a record 12th Hong Kong Champion Trainer title. The battle for the championship was settled before the season finale, as Size successfully repelled a strong challenge from Francis Lui and Frankie Lor throughout the season to recapture the crown.

Zac Purton is now a six-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey. The Australian rider enjoyed another remarkable season of dominance, including breaking Joao Moreira's single-season record of 170 wins. He also reached 1,600 career wins in Hong Kong. Purton and Douglas Whyte are the only jockeys in the history of Hong Kong racing to reach 1,600 wins.

Vincent Ho won the Tony Cruz Award as the season's leading homegrown rider with a personal best 94 wins (as of 14 July).

This season's Most Popular Jockey and Most Popular Horse will be presented at the conclusion of Sunday's (16 July) 88th and final fixture this season at Sha Tin.

The winners for the 2022/23 season are listed as follows:

Award	Winner	Owner	Trainer
Horse of the Year	Golden Sixty	Stanley Chan Ka Leung	Francis Lui
Champion Trainer	John Size
Champion Jockey	Zac Purton
Champion Four-Year-Old	Lucky Sweynesse	Cheng Ming Leung, Cheng Yu Tung, Cheng Mei Mei & Cheng Yu Wai	Manfred Man
Champion Sprinter	Lucky Sweynesse	Cheng Ming Leung, Cheng Yu Tung, Cheng Mei Mei & Cheng Yu Wai	Manfred Man
Champion Miler	Golden Sixty	Stanley Chan Ka Leung	Francis Lui
Champion Middle-Distance Horse	Romantic Warrior	Peter Lau Pak Fai	Danny Shum
Champion Stayer	Russian Emperor	Mike Cheung Shun Ching	Douglas Whyte
Champion Griffin	Howdeeepisyourlove	Lo Profile Syndicate	John Size
Tony Cruz Award	Vincent Ho
Most Improved Horse	Beauty Eternal	Patrick Kwok Ho Chuen	John Size

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Del Mar’s Opening Day Program Sold Out; Limited Tickets Available For Remainder Of Weekend

All available tickets for Del Mar's celebrated opening day program on Friday, July 21 have been sold, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced today. However, limited tickets remain available for Opening Weekend — July 22 and 23 – as well as throughout the summer season.

Celebrating Del Mar's opening day is a local tradition in the greater San Diego area with big crowds taking in world-class racing and hospitality. In order to optimize the patron experience, the track limited ticket sales for opening day again this year based largely on positive feedback from fans after a similar measure was put in place for the past two summers' opening day programs and for the two recent Breeders' Cup World Championships held at the seaside facility.

“This will be the third year we've capped attendance on Opening Day and the feedback we have received from our fans over this time has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Del Mar chief executive officer Joe Harper. “A sell-out crowd where everyone has easier access to wagering, food and beverage and other amenities is the right way to get our 84th racing season off to a strong start. We're excited by the level of fan interest and we're looking forward to the start of the summer meet.”

Reserved seating and admission for the Saturday and Sunday programs of Opening Weekend (along with the remainder of the eight-week season) are available at dmtc.com/tickets.

First post for all three days of Opening Weekend will be 2 p.m.

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Thoroughbred Owner Conference Series Jockey Panel Focuses On Preparation For Race Day

The sixth panel of the OwnerView Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference held Tuesday, July 11, featured jockeys Katie Davis, Sophie Doyle, Tyler Gaffalione, and Chris McCarron discussing how they prepare mentally and physically for race day. The panel was moderated by OwnerView's project manager, Gary Falter.

The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. This panel was sponsored by MyRacehorse and Walmac.

Attendees were able to ask questions through Zoom's Q&A feature, sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds.

The panel started with videos created by America's Best Racing of Doyle riding in the 2019 Breeders' Cup and Gaffalione in the 2019 Louisiana Derby followed by a discussion on the dedication and lifestyle of a professional jockey, fitness requirements, nutrition, preparing for a race, and coming back after injury.

“It requires a lot of dedication,” Doyle said. “I've found throughout my career that it was one of those careers that you have to literally put it before everything else.”

“Staying on top of working out is super important, even if that's 20 or 30 minutes a day on top of working horses in the morning and getting out there and getting on as many as possible helps a lot,” Davis said. “It's a lifestyle. It's not for everybody.”

“We obviously have to maintain our weight, eat the right foods, fuel our bodies. It's just finding that balance that works for you,” Gaffalione said. “Personally, I can't lift too many weights because I gain too much muscle and muscle is heavy so I try to find other ways to keep my body loose and to kind of keep me sharp.”

McCarron summed up what it takes to get back to riding after an injury.

“The one thing you have to be careful about as a jockey post injury is that you maintain yourself on a regimen of a good diet,” he said. When you are in the position of going through a healing process, your body really needs as much nutrition as you can give it, so you've got to find the balance between the proper nutrition to aid in the healing process without putting on any weight.”

A replay of the jockey panel and previous panels can be viewed here: bit.ly/OVVideos.

There are five more Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels scheduled for 2023, with the next session, Buying at Public Auctions, to be held August 8 at 2 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.

There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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Ward Trainees Eye Witness, No Nay Hudson Likely To Be Running Late In Sunday’s Quick Call

Trainer Wesley Ward will have two chances in Eye Witness and No Nay Hudson to earn his second score in Sunday's Grade 3, $175,000 Quick Call presented by Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation at Saratoga Race Course.

Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith and Michael B. Tabor's dual stakes-winner Eye Witness [post 3, Jose Ortiz] has won 3-of-4 starts and enters the 5 1/2-furong Mellon turf sprint for sophomores from wins in the six-furlong Animal Kingdom in March at Turfway Park and the seven-furlong Paradise Creek on May 20 over yielding turf at Belmont Park.

Last out, he settled in fifth position under Jose Ortiz, making an early move for the lead late in the turn and staved off the late charge of Inflation Nation to win by a head. That effort came in contrast to his previous efforts earned in more prominent fashion.

“I left that up to Jose,” said Ward, who captured this event in 2021 with that year's eventual Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint-winner Golden Pal. “He's a very patient rider and when it comes to these kind of horses, I usually go to him or Joel Rosario. I try to fit the riding style to the horse and both of them do well for me with those type of horses.

“He rode a really good race,” added Ward. “He said he moved a little sooner than he wanted to in the race which cost him at the end, but he still held on and won so I was happy.”

The $650,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, a half-brother to stakes-winner More Mischief, is out of the Mr. Greeley mare Gracilia, who is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner and sire Sharp Humor.

Andrew Farm and For the People Racing Stable's No Nay Hudson [post 1, James Graham] also demonstrated new dimensions last out, closing from seventh to win the 5 1/2-furlong William Walker on May 13 at Churchill Downs with James Graham aboard for the first time.

The No Nay Never colt was piloted through five of his first six starts by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, posting prominent efforts when second in the Skidmore in August at Saratoga and third in the Indian Summer in October at Keeneland.

Ward said he wanted to try something new last out and engaged the veteran Graham, who will be in search of his first Spa score.

“I wanted to change the horse's style,” Ward said. “So, I told him, 'rider, you may not understand this one, but I want an Eddie D.' That's an old term from California where Eddie Delahoussaye used to come from way back and come with a run. So, I said to him, 'I'll give you one you do know – give me a Joel Rosario.'”

Graham did not disappoint, rating the talented bay off the pace before unleashing a wide run down the lane to secure a 1 1/2-length win and garner a career-best 89 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He rode a beautiful race. He eased him back there like he did and then eased him out and away he went,” Ward said.

The win resonated with Graham and on May 26 he found himself aboard Surveillance taking on the Ward-trained Bound for Nowhere with Rosario up.

“I brought Joel out to ride my old horse Bound For Nowhere at Churchill and James was on another horse in the race and he was laughing at us, pointing at Joel and then pointing at himself and pointing back at Joel like, 'I can do it!'” said Ward, with a laugh.

Neither Surveillance nor Bound for Nowhere hit the board that day, but the improving No Nay Hudson is in with a shout Sunday here and Ward said the colt has trained well, including a half-mile breeze in 48.40 on June 28 over the Keeneland dirt.

“He's one we're just trying to get to settle. My main exercise rider, Julio Garcia, has got the horse to relax,” Ward said. “We're doing some nice, easy slow works and he's got a couple races in him now. Fitness isn't an issue. It's just trying to get his mind to where we can get him to settle. He's at Saratoga now and ready to go.”

The $190,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the graded-stakes winning Malibu Moon mare Raw Silk.

Paradise Farms Corp., David Staudacher, Skychai Racing and Angelo Carlesimo's graded-stakes placed Gaslight Dancer [post 10, Tyler Gaffalione] finished third as the mutuel favorite in the William Walker.

Trained by Mike Maker, the City of Light bay was a close second to Nagirroc in the Grade 3 Futurity in October at Belmont at the Big A. He followed with a sixth-place finish in the one-mile Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in November at Keeneland when defeated just 3 3/4-lengths by the victorious Victoria Road.

He entered the William Walker from a 1 1/2-length score in the Palisades on April 16 traveling 5 1/2-furlongs over good Keeneland turf.

The $260,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase is out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Raindrops Droptops, who is a half-sister to graded-stakes winner Summer Raven.

Trainer Larry Rivelli will send out Patricia's Hope's stakes-winner Uncashed [post 9, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] for his turf debut.

The Florida-bred Uncaptured bay sports a record of 5-4-1-0 led by a last-out romp in the six-furlong Golden Circle at Prairie Meadows. He was purchased privately from a winning debut in September at Louisiana Downs for breeder Nicksar Farms. Uncashed drifted to finish second on debut for current connections in October at Hawthorne, but returned to win his first two starts this year over the same course.

Rounding out a competitive field are dirt graded-stakes placed Two of a Kind [post 5, Julien Leparoux], who finished second in both the Palisades and William Walker for trainer Brian Lynch; multiple stakes-placed Dr Oseran [post 4, Flavien Prat] for conditioner Christophe Clement; allowance winner Briterdayzahead [post 7, Luis Saez] for trainer Joe Sharp; and maiden winners Charging [post 6, Manny Franco] for trainer Brad Cox, Son of a Birch [post 8, Javier Castellano] for conditioner Tom Morley and the Phil Bauer-trained Kigali [post 2, Florent Geroux]. Acoustic Ave and Joey Freshwater are entered for the main-track only.

The Quick Call is slated as Race 9 on Sunday's 10-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

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