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Hometown Hero Golden Sixty Runs Win Streak To 11 With Hong Kong Mile Triumph

They came, they saw, they tried to blunt his dash, but they failed to conquer Golden Sixty: Hong Kong's burgeoning hometown hero dismantled his international rivals in the HK$25 million G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin with an exquisite performance.

“He's amazing, isn't he?” jockey Vincent Ho said, moments after the brilliant 5-year-old unleashed an unanswerable burst of speed that carried him to a dazzling two-length victory.

For Ho and trainer Francis Lui, Golden Sixty's success is a first at the Hong Kong International Races.

Lui was delighted and relieved to see his standout galloper seal a 14th win from 15 starts, and surpass the great Beauty Generation's 10 wins in a row with his 11th-straight triumph – in Hong Kong, only the near-immortal Silent Witness has won more races on the bounce.

“I can have a good sleep tonight!” Lui declared. “I'm very happy – at the moment, I don't know what to say, (my heart) is still pumping. As a jockey, as a trainer, as an owner, you're dreaming of this.

“I was worried about the horses from Japan and Ireland but now, after this race, he has shown me that he's a champion.”

Lui's pre-race concerns were natural with Japan's 2019 victor Admire Mars in the line-up along with last-start G1 Breeders' Cup Mile winner Order Of Australia, from Ireland's powerful Aidan O'Brien stable. But his anxiety proved needless, the invaders were no match for last season's BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner, who races in the silks of Stanley Chan Ka-leung.

With speed enough to have posted nine wins at 1200m and 1400m, and the fortitude to last the local Derby's 10 furlongs, the Medaglia d'Oro gelding seems to have it all.

When the gates crashed back, Ho exhibited apposite confidence on the 1.3 favorite, allowing his mount to settle third-last – seven lengths off the lead – while Ryan Moore pressed Admire Mars forward to stalk outside the front-running Ka Ying Star.

“They went a little bit hard early and I was quite far back, so I just let him slide through from the 600 (meters) and it only took him a few strides to almost get to them. I tried to save him until I let him down and when I asked for him, he did it really well, he gave me a really big effort,” Ho said with typically deadpan understatement.

Golden Sixty cruised around the field turning for home; the Australian-bred bounded rapidly through his gears and when he hit top speed, his stride was a blur of quickening power.

“When I hit the top of the straight, I knew,” Ho said. “I was just cruising and I didn't think anyone could beat him in that sort of sprint.

“He's a horse that really wants to compete, he's the best horse in Hong Kong at the moment. Today is all about him.”

Golden Sixty's winning time was 1:33.45; his closing 400m spilt, a strong 22.05.

Such a performance, with the admirable G1 FWD Champions Mile winner Southern Legend second and Admire Mars a battling third, sees Golden Sixty take up the baton as Hong Kong's latest star from the once imperious Beauty Generation.

Connections announced shortly after the race that 8-year-old Beauty Generation will race no more. Hong Kong's highest-rated galloper of all time – rated the equal of another great miler, Able Friend – bowed out with a meritorious fifth place and a Hong Kong career tally of 18 wins from 34 starts, as well as the local all-time record prize money haul of HK$106,233,750.

At his peak, Beauty Generation was an incredible force around Sha Tin, claiming two editions of the Hong Kong Mile among his eight G1 wins for trainer John Moore – his last three races came under the care of trainer David Hayes.

“I knew it may be on the table,” said Zac Purton, who rode the Kwok family's champion 28 times.

Beauty Generation

“It's a bitter-sweet day. It's a sad end. He's been the best horse for me in my career. I'm certainly going to miss him. He was brave again today and wherever he may go in the world, I'm sure I'll go and visit him in his paddock one day.”

Beauty Generation was high-class in Australia before scaling Hong Kong's heights but never ventured away from Sha Tin to test his mettle as a champion overseas. Lui said when pressed that the Golden Sixty team will consider off-shore options in the future but not while the world remains in its pandemic-induced turmoil.

“Not this season,” he said. “Because of the virus, we'll keep him in Hong Kong this season.”

With Ireland's Mogul carrying off the Hong Kong Vase and Japanese raiders Danon Smash and Normcore capturing the Hong Kong Sprint and Hong Kong Cup respectively, Hong Kong needed a big performance from its latest home town hero.

Golden Sixty delivered just that, and with it, the promise that Hong Kong has unearthed yet another athlete to rank among the world's best.

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Moore Becomes Fourth Jockey To Complete ‘Grand Slam’ Of Hong Kong International Races

Ryan Moore completed the Group 1 “Grand Slam” of Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) – the Vase, Sprint, Mile and Cup.

Aidan O'Brien's number one jockey picked up his third Hong Kong Vase aboard Coolmore's Mogul, before going on to seal his first win in the Hong Kong Sprint with Japanese raider Danon Smash.

Moore had previously partnered Snow Fairy (2010) and Maurice (2016) to Hong Kong Cup wins, while Maurice also landed the Hong Kong Mile with the three-time UK Champion Jockey aboard in 2015.

Zac Purton, Joao Moreira and Gerald Mosse are the other three jockeys to have also completed the HKIR “Grand Slam.”

Moore first travelled to Hong Kong in 2001 as a teenager, never dreaming he would rise to acclaim as the Longines World's Best Jockey among a host of other accolades.

“I've always loved coming to Hong Kong. I came here when I was 18 and they were doing the breeze-up sale and I've always loved coming here,” he said.

“I hadn't even rode as an apprentice then and I remember coming here and watching Douglas (Whyte) ride all the winners. It was a different time but it was always a great atmosphere and you know how much it means to the punters here. They love their racing and it will be great to have them back here.

“It's fantastic racing and competitive racing. It's been a shame I wasn't able to get over here earlier this year but hopefully we can come again. The year for everyone has been a mess but we're very thankful to everyone at the Hong Kong Jockey Club for getting me over. It's been a big effort and I can't really stress enough the time they've put in. We're very thankful to get us over here.”

Following Moore's two Group 1 wins, Golden Sixty, last season's Hong Kong Derby winner, put in a scintillating performance in the Hong Kong Mile to confirm his class at the highest level. It was the son of Medaglia d'Oro's 14^th win in 15 starts.

Race reply: https://twitter.com/HongKong_Racing/status/1338030726739013634

In the final Group 1 of the day, Ireland's Magical was sent off favourite and battled well to finish third, but the race went the way of Japanese raider Normcore.

Race reply: https://twitter.com/HongKong_Racing/status/1338047740522225665

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Like Father, Like Son: Danon Smash Takes Hong Kong Sprint For Japan

Danon Smash followed in the footsteps of his sire Lord Kanaloa with a thrilling victory for Japan on Sunday in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200 meters) at Sha Tin, their third in the HK$22 million contest's 21-year history.

“It is a very pleasing moment that Lord Kanaloa and Danon Smash, sire and son could achieve their Hong Kong wins – it's a happy moment,” said a representative for trainer Takayuki Yasuda.

Lord Kanaloa landed Sha Tin's premier dash twice in 2012 and 2013, and was also trained by Yasuda, and Danon Smash joined the honor roll with a gritty success under Ryan Moore, who one race prior, secured the G1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) aboard Mogul.

“We got lucky – he stepped very well and we managed to slot into a lovely spot, I was always happy and when the pace steadied around the bend, I was able to just move out and keep moving forward and he got there in plenty of time,” Moore said.

The Lord Kanaloa 5-year-old broke cleanly from the widest gate of 14 to sit midfield under Moore, who peeled out at the 300 meter mark to grind his way to a half-length victory in a time of 1:08.45, staving off the fast-finishing Jolly Banner in second, while Rattan rattled into third.

“He was very tough and very honest – he was a pleasure to ride and he'd shown very good form at times in Japan's best sprints and at seven furlongs as well he's won some of the best races at Group 2 level and he deserved to win his Group 1,” Moore said.

The speedy bay has finished third and second in the last two editions of the G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) at Nakayama, and is a four-time G3 winner and two-time G2 victor.

“I'm delighted and just thankful for being asked to ride him and I also need to thank the owners Danox and Mr. Yasuda certainly knows how to prepare a sprinter for a Hong Kong Sprint,” the British ace said.

The 114-rater landed the 10th win of his career today, and followed last start's runner-up effort to Gran Alegria with a triumph today, his first at the top-level after eight attempts.

“I gave him a gentle breeze on Wednesday morning – it wasn't anything strenuous, there was no real comments to say, no one was worried by anything about the horse but no one was overly bullish about the horse,” Moore said.

Today's pair of wins are Moore's seventh at the Hong Kong International Races, the most any international-based rider in history.

“I think when he got the draw we were all possibly a bit worried and we needed to see what happens and thankfully everything worked his way and we just had a bit of luck and everything worked out nicely,” Moore said.

Classique Legend battled on for 11th, while favorite Hot King Prawn was overhauled and faded to finish seventh as the dominant 2.1 market elect.

While Hong Kong's current sprinting ranks were on show in the HK$22 million contest, the future was on show four races later as Winning Dreamer extended his unbeaten record to a perfect six with victory in the aptly named Class 2 Lord Kanaloa Handicap (1200m).

The speedster charged to a comfortable one-length victory, while Sky Field could only manage sixth.

“I'm thinking the first of January, there is a 1400 meter race at G3 level to see if we can know more whether he can step up to 1600 meters,” trainer Frankie Lor said.

The G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) on January 1, 2021, will see Winning Dreamer put his Hong Kong Classic Mile credentials on the line, or, if the son of Deep Field will keep to the sprint distances.

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‘We Have Managed This Crisis’: Hong Kong Successfully Stages International Races

Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges saluted Hong Kong's “unique spirit and resilience” after a successful staging of the Longines Hong Kong International Races featuring G1 glory across four world-class features shared between Japan, Ireland and Hong Kong at Sha Tin on Sunday, Dec. 13.

“It is important to have these global events. We are very proud that as a team, we pulled this off,” he said.

“There were some anxious moments and discussions about 'How can we do this?' but in the end, we focused on the result and the results speak for themselves.

“The tracks were in outstanding condition, if you look at the way the horses were handled in quarantine and how the jockeys were brought into isolation facilities, everything went perfectly in challenging times.

“But this is the 'can-do' spirit of Hong Kong and the playing-to-win spirit of the Jockey Club.”

Engelbrecht-Bresges said challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic contrived to make the latest staging of the “Turf World Championships” the most difficult in the history of the Club.

“But the system we created was extremely robust. It all passed all the tough questions of health officials and I would like to thank the government for trusting us,” he said.

“You can have all the processes but, in the end, are you able to pull this off? And people say 'If there's one organization in Hong Kong to pull this off, that's the Jockey Club.”

“And we hope that this gives an example of how maybe other sports can do this.”

Acknowledging the success of Japan with Normcore in the HK$28 million Hong Kong Cup, Danon Smash in the HK$22 million Hong Kong Sprint and Ireland with Mogul in the HK$20 million Hong Kong Vase, Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges paid tribute to the enterprise and support shown by visiting international horsemen.

“I want to give special credit to our overseas friends because it's about trust to send your people, to send your horses on such a journey,” he said.

“To have such an exquisite assembly of equine talent – be it horse, be it jockeys – to come to Hong Kong, we would like to really thank our friends overseas to enable us to stage such a global event.

“If you look at the event today, it went to absolute perfection.

“I think it was absolutely a global sporting event of the highest quality. It showed Hong Kong is one of the fairest places to bring a horse.

“The support we get from Ballydoyle, which is really the leading global racing operation, and that they have success winning with a horse like Mogul and a really good performance by Magical.

“Our Japanese friends must be very happy and there were some people saying you cannot win from barrier 14 on Danon Smash but if you have Ryan Moore on board, he can make it happen.”

Referring to local hero Golden Sixty's devastating HK$25 million LONGINES Hong Kong Mile win, Engelbrecht-Bresges paid tribute to winning rider Vincent Ho.

“Vincent Ho was a shining example of investment in the future,” he said of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys' School graduate, who has risen to global recognition as a world-class rider.

“Vincent has definitely arrived today on the global stage as one of the really top-class jockeys,” he said.

“I'm definitely really pleased to see Golden Sixty show a tremendous performance and he's definitely one of the best milers in the world.

Engelbrecht-Bresges emphasised the Club's determination that “none of our activities should pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of our fans and customers” was unshakeable.

“We have clear guiding principles and with daily assessment, practically from the start of the year, we have managed this crisis and created a Racing Bubble,” he said.

“Everybody bought into this and I want to give credit to the whole team for pulling this off.”

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