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Golden Sixty Becomes Hong Kong’s Winningest Horse With HK Mile Victory

Golden Sixty stands alone as Hong Kong's most prolific winner in history after he successfully defended his Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) crown at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong Dec. 12.

Nailing yet another heart-stopping win under jockey Vincent Ho, Hong Kong's champion savored the 19th win of his career to set a new record in town, surpassing the previous mantle of 18 he shared with Silent Witness and Beauty Generation, dating back to when the professional era of Hong Kong racing commenced in 1971.

Smashing a fine field of 10 others from Japan, Ireland, and Hong Kong including this year's G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) winner Danon Kingly, Golden Sixty enhanced his earnings to a mouth-watering HK$95.453 million with victory, just HK$10.78 million shy of the record mark in Hong Kong set by Beauty Generation (HK$106.233 million).

Racing in the silks of Stanley Chan Ka-Leung and trained by Francis Lui, Golden Sixty – 'The Pride of Hong Kong' – delivered a performance worthy of status as the world's best miler.

“I feel very happy, he's my champion, and I have to say thank you to my team and Vincent (Ho) and the owner – they support me,” Lui said.

Extending his winning sequence to 16, Ho dropped the Medaglia d'Oro gelding back to the second half of the field on the fence; in the straight, Ho weaved for an out, eventually taking a split at the 300m mark before his sparkling dash carried him to a one and three-quarter length victory in a time of 1:33.86.

“I knew he was at his best, gate two was a little bit tricky, I didn't want to be stuck on the inside but eventually the race panned out well and the pace was genuine,” Ho said.

More Than This filled the second spot while Salios and Mother Earth grabbed third and fourth, respectively.

“It was much better today because the pace was on, he actually relaxed very well, and as a 6-year-old, he's more mature, so it's even better,” Ho said.

The success is the second at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races for both Francis Lui and Vincent Ho, while today's performance sees Golden Sixty remain unbeaten since September 2019.

“It's all about teamwork as well, without anyone from the stable we couldn't do this,” Ho said.

A six-year-old – Golden Sixty – boasts eight wins over 1200m and 1400m, while twice he has stepped up to 2000m successfully, claiming the 2020 BMW Hong Kong Derby and 2021 G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup.

“He's such an aggressive horse so he doesn't mind going through horses,” Ho said of the gelding's tenacity.

Sunday, Ho savored the win in front of an adoring crowd, which throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been absent at times or in a smaller capacity.

“Last year, it wasn't like this, I got to enjoy it with the crowd and it's such a great atmosphere, I just hope the other guys are ok, it's hard to enjoy it completely,” Ho said, also reflecting on the mishap that occurred earlier in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).

Hong Kong racing continues this Wednesday, December 15, at Happy Valley.

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Endorsed To Take On Dennis’ Moment In Saturday’s Mr. Prospector

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who has gotten off to a solid start at Gulfstream's Championship Meet with two wins on Friday's opening day program and two more Wednesday, will seek his first stakes win of the winter session aboard Mark Breen's Endorsed in Saturday's $100,000 Mr. Prospector (G3), a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that will be the first of 37 graded-stakes on the Gulfstream's $14.26 million stakes schedule.

Endorsed, who was claimed for $100,000 out of a third-place finish in an Aug. 26 optional claiming allowance at Saratoga, has been winless in three starts for trainer Mike Maker, finishing third in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes, fourth in the Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland and a close third in an optional claiming allowance at Churchill while being ridden by Gaffalione for the first time.

“Since Mike took over his training, he's really coming into his own. He's had three big performances in his last three races against top-quality horses,” Gaffalione said. “It seems like he leaves himself with too much to do. I'm hoping the extra difference will help him out and he gets a clean trip.”

The 5-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro is graded stakes-placed and has run respectably in a few Grade 1 stakes, but he is still seeking to win his first stakes in a steady 23-race career.

Albaugh Family Stables LLC's Dennis' Moment enters the Mr. Prospector coming off his first win since capturing the 2019 Iroquois at Churchill Downs. The Dale Romans-trained son of Tiznow captured a seven-furlong optional claiming allowance at Keeneland.

Corey Lanerie has the call aboard Dennis' Moment.

Drain the Clock was nominated to the Mr. Prospector, but trainer Saffie Joseph has opted to run the Grade 1 winner in a Friday optional claiming allowance off a layoff and run Daniel Alonso's Wind of Change and Vegso Racing Stable's Officiating in Saturday's stakes.

Wind of Change, who won the ungraded Mr. Prospector at Monmouth in May, is coming off a second-place finish in an optional claiming allowance in his first start on Gulfstream's Tapeta course.

“I thought he handled it well. Obviously, going in there was a bit of unknown because he had never been on it. Overall, I thought it was a good race,” Joseph said. “The horse that beat him [King of Dreams] came back and won a stake. A good horse beat him.”

Joseph expects Wind of Change to be a forward factor in the Mr. Prospector.

“His best style of running is on lead, so we're trying, hopefully, to go to the lead,” he said.

Edgard Zayas has the mount aboard the Brazilian-bred 6-year-old.

Officiating, who made a strong middle move on Tapeta before fading in the Showing Up, won the off-the-turf Bear's Den at seven furlongs over a sloppy track in his previous start.

“He's kind of a weird kind of horse. We've only had him for four starts, and he's trained really well on the dirt. We only ran him once on dirt, and it was on the slop, and he handled it well. He won a stake,” Joseph said. “His previous races on dry dirt, he's never hit the board. It's kind of an experiment. He's training so well on the dirt. I want to give him one try.”

Luis Saez is scheduled to ride Officiating for the first time.

Calumet Farm's Flap Jack, Russell Staggs' Doc Amster and Stonehedge LLC's Poppy's Pride round out the field.

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Hong Kong Superstar Golden Sixty Eyeing New Record Ahead Of International Challenge

Golden Sixty impressed trainer Francis Lui with a strong hit out on the turf Tuesday morning at Sha Tin as he prepares for the chance to create history in Sunday's (Dec. 12) HK$26 million (about US$3.3 million) G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

The brilliant son of Medaglia d'Oro will aim to defend his LONGINES Hong Kong Mile crown this weekend, in what will be his toughest to date as he eyes an extension to his winning sequence of 16 by capturing his 19th career win in Hong Kong – a local record.

After watching Hong Kong's champion clock 1:18.2 (27.9, 28.0, 22.3) over six furlongs alongside a partner horse (Valiant Dream), Lui declared: “He's good – Vincent (Ho) was happy with him – he's ready.”

Sharing the current mantle of 18 wins with Silent Witness and Beauty Generation, Golden Sixty will aim to enter unknown territory and stand unrivalled with victory at this weekend's LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.

“I just asked Vincent to roll him into it, let him work into it and he did it with a partner horse,” Lui said. “He will gallop again on Friday (Dec. 10) and it'll just be similar again.”

Standing in Golden Sixty's way this weekend is the might of Japan – a quartet from the Land of the Rising Sun spearheaded by Danon Kingly – this year's G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m, one mile) winner.

Joining him is Salios – a two-time runner-up to the exceptional Contrail (Japan's eighth Triple Crown winner), Indy Champ – a two-time G1 winner as well as Vin de Garde who placed at the top-level behind Lord North in Dubai earlier this year.

Aidan O'Brien has the sole representative with his dual G1-winning 3-year-old filly, Mother Earth, while five others from Hong Kong feature: Waikuku, More Than This, Sky Darci, Excellent Proposal and Lucky Express.

Yesterday (Monday, Dec. 6) at Sha Tin, Golden Sixty – in an unusual turn of events – bit Vincent Ho on the hand, his regular rider.

“I asked him what happened, normally he always goes in the box after the gallop with the horse to communicate with him and he just sat outside the box and Golden Sixty maybe wanted to play with him and he just had a bite,” Lui said.

“Normally he's a good horse, they have their own character, and he has his,” he added.

Usually displaying flare on the track, Golden Sixty's incredible career has encompassed earnings of HK$80.633 million (about US$10.33 million), 18 wins from 19 starts, four G1 wins, 2020 BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m, 1 1/4 miles) glory, a trio of G2 triumphs and two G3s.

“I liked his last run it was good to see – I hope he can carry on and that we can get more and more good horses to train,” Lui said.

The reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year's winning margins are rarely big with his customary last-minute dash on show week in, week out.

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After The Finish Line’s Charity Auction Of Breeders’ Cup Hats To Benefit RRP & Others

After the Finish Line's 6th Annual Charity Auction of Breeders' Cup Hats starts this Sunday, Dec. 5. The auction, which runs for one week, is one of After the Finish Line's fundraisers that benefits its grant making activity. The Retired Racehorse Project has partnered with After the Finish Line, and will receive a portion of proceeds.

Up for bid are over 50 iconic purple Breeders' Cup hats from the 2021 World Championships at Del Mar. They are typically only available for the connections of Breeders' Cup entrants. Several hats of past fan favorites will also be in the mix, including Zenyatta, Medaglia d'Oro, Songbird, Ghostzapper, and more. Hats for this year's auction were generously donated by the horses' connections.

“This auction brings aftercare and horse racing fans together in a unique way,” said Dawn Mellen, president and founder of After the Finish Line. “Fans can bid on the hats of their favorite racehorses to benefit the Thoroughbreds after racing. This helps raise awareness about the importance of aftercare for racing fans. We are excited to help build the bridge between racing and aftercare with this annual auction.”

A selection of hats is directly pledged to individual aftercare organizations who will receive the proceeds raised from their chosen hat. Participating aftercare organizations include Beyond the Roses Equine Rescue and Retirement, CARMA, Florida TRAC, Old Friends, Racing For Home, Second Call Thoroughbred Adoption & Retirement, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and Turning for Home.

Bidding in the eBay auction will open this Sunday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT at ebay.com/str/afterthefinishline.

About After the Finish Line: After the Finish Line is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that awards Monthly Grants to aftercare organizations across the United States that care for, rehab, retrain, rehome and/or retire Off Track Thoroughbreds, Thoroughbreds in training that never raced, and Thoroughbred broodmares, stallions, and foals. Grants are awarded for surgery, veterinarian, chiropractor, medication, supplements, farrier, dental, vaccines, hay, feed, training, boarding, transportation and/or auction rescue. Since 2007, ATFL has awarded nearly 750 grants helping approximately 4,700 Off Track Thoroughbreds. Visit, afterthefinishline.org.

The Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) is a 501c3 charitable organization working to increase demand for off-track Thoroughbreds in the equestrian world. In addition to producing the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, the organization also publishes Off-Track Thoroughbred Magazine, hosts off-track Thoroughbred retraining clinics, offers programing at major horse expos and events around the country, and maintains the online Thoroughbred Sport Tracker (the internet's only user-driven database tracking second career talent and accomplishments of registered Thoroughbreds. Visit the RRP online at TheRRP.org.

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