Weekend Lineup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Weekend Lineup: Kentucky Derby Prep Season Heating Up

The racing spotlight focuses on the Road to the Kentucky Derby this weekend, with three qualifying points races to be run on New Year's Day at Aqueduct, Oaklawn and Santa Anita. A total of 17 points are offered in each race on a 10-4-2-1 basis to the top four finishers.

A fourth race for 3-year-olds, the Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park, is not a points race but kicks off the road to the G1 Florida Derby, traditionally one of the most productive races that leads to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.

Aqueduct's $150,000 Jerome, run at one mile around one turn, has drawn a field of eight 3-year-olds. Fourteen have been entered in Oaklawn's $250,000 Southwest, run at a mile around two turns. Five are scheduled to go postward in the $100,000 Sham, a Grade 3 race run around two turns at one mile at Santa Anita. Two of the five are trained by Bob Baffert, whose horses are not eligible for Kentucky Derby points due to his being excluded from all Churchill Downs tracks after Medina Spirit, first-place finishers in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, failed a post-race drug test.

In addition to the races for Triple Crown hopefuls, there are two other graded stakes on Santa Anita's New Year's Day program: the G2 Joe Hernandez for older turf sprinters running on the picturesque downhill turf course; and the G3 Robert J. Frankel for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the infield grass oval.

Here's a brief look at the four 3-year-old races (all times Eastern).

Saturday

3:50 p.m. – Jerome at Aqueduct

The Jerome was first run in 1866 and has been won by some legendary horses, but that was when it was contested during the fall. Since being moved to January, it has not attracted classic prospects.

This year's field is led by Jeremiah O'Dwyer-trained Cooke Creek, an Uncle Mo colt who was 2-for-2 at Delaware Park before a good second to Baffert-trained Rockefeller in the G3 Nashua Stakes Nov. 7. He draws the inside post and will be ridden by Manny Franco. Starting from the outside post will be the Rudy Rodriguez-trained Hagler, the expected pacesetter who won back-to-back sprint races at Belmont and Aqueduct and is making his stakes debut. Jorge Vargas Jr. rides.

Jerome entries

4:42 p.m. – Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park

Morning line favorite Strike Hard has a win over the Gulfstream surface at the same distance as the Mucho Macho Man but disappointed in his only stakes start for trainer Matthew Williams when sent to Churchill Downs for a seventh-place finish in the G3 Iroquois Stakes in September. Junior Alvarado rides. Graphic Detail, a Practical Joke colt trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, won at first asking at Belmont Park Nov. 6 and has been training steadily at Payson Park. Red-hot Luis Saez has the mount.

Mucho Macho Man entries

6:13 p.m. – Smarty Jones at Oaklawn

Oaklawn has built a formidable series of races for 3-year-olds leading to the Triple Crown. After Saturday's Smarty Jones comes the $750,000, G3 Southwest Stakes on Jan. 29; the $1 million, G2 Rebel on Feb. 26; and the $1,250,000, G1 Arkansas Derby on April 2.

The Smarty Jones appears to be a wide open contest, with Chris Hartman-trained Kavod – a $50,000 claim at Churchill Downs in November – the only stakes winner in the field of 14. He won the six-furlong Advent Stakes at Oaklawn Dec. 3. Home Brew, a Street Sense colt from the Brad Cox barn, comes off a solid allowance win going a mile at Oaklawn Dec. 4 and is the morning line favorite. He began his career in Maryland with Kelly Breen and was transferred after that race to Cox, finishing second in a Nov. 14 Churchill Downs allowance race before his local win. Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen has a trio entered in the Smarty Jones, but two of them – Cairama and Cool Papa G – drew the 11 and 12 posts, respectively, posing a serious challenge for their riders. His best hope may rest with All in Sync, breaking from the two post under Ricardo Santana Jr. A 12-1 longshot breaking from the rail is Kenny McPeek-trained Dash Attack, a Munnings colt who captured his debut at Oaklawn by 1 1/4 lengths. David Cohen rode him that day and will be aboard again on Saturday.

Smarty Jones entries

7:00 p.m. – Sham at Santa Anita

Rockefeller and Newgrange represent the barn of Bob Baffert, who dominates California races for 2- and 3-year-olds on dirt. Rockefeller comes off a win in the G3 Nashua after being sent to Belmont in November and Newgrange won at first asking at Del Mar. Mackinnon, third in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf for trainer Doug O'Neill, is testing the main track for the first time since his debut at Santa Anita last May. Oviatt Class is a talented horse who would benefit from a quick pace. He was an unlucky fifth behind Corniche in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile for trainer Keith Desormeaux and his brother, Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.

Sham entries

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Weekend Lineup: Santa Anita’s Opening Is The Day After Christmas Present For Racing Fans

The only graded stakes in North America this weekend fall on Santa Anita's traditional day after Christmas opening day, when the Arcadia, Calif., track unwraps six graded stakes on an 11-race card that gets under way at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern.

Three of the six stakes are G1: the Runhappy Malibu for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs on dirt, the La Brea for 3-year-old fillies going the same distance, and the American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/4 miles on turf in a race scheduled to begin on the reopened Santa Anita downhill turf course.

New to the expansive Santa Anita betting menu is a special opening day mid-pick 4 wager offered on races five through eight and featuring a 50-cent minimum. The bet will be offered on days when 11 races are carded.

Following Sunday's opening-day program, Santa Anita will offer a special nine-race Monday card that kicks off with a 12 noon PT first post.

While Santa Anita's day after Christmas opening is the gift many horseplayers and fans have been waiting for, there is non-graded stakes action on Sunday at Laurel Park in Maryland, Florida's Gulfstream Park and Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.

Here's a brief preview of Santa Anita's opening day graded stakes:

Sunday

4:08 p.m. ET – G2 San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita

The fifth race on the card, the San Gabriel will see Dan Blacker-trained Hit the Road, a More Than Ready colt who earlier this year won the G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes at Santa Anita going one mile, stretch out to nine furlongs for the first time. Umberto Rispoli, a perfect three-for-three aboard Hit the Road, will be back aboard the 4-year-old colt after Florent Geroux handled him in his last four starts. Look for Michael McCarthy-trained Friar's Road to be flying late under Jose Ortiz, who traveled west to ride several horses for McCarthy on the opening day card. The Quality Road colt has yet to win a stakes but was third, beaten a head, in the G2 John Henry Turf Championship Stakes two starts back at Santa Anita.

San Gabriel entries

4:40 p.m. – San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita

G1 Pennsylvania Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie was not disgraced when fourth behind likely Horse of the Year Knicks Go in his first try against older horses in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 6. He's the heavy morning line favorite in the San Antonio under regular rider Flavien Prat, and trainer Doug O'Neill is removing blinkers from the Oxbow colt's equipment after they were added for the Breeders' Cup. Kiss Today Goodbye defends his San Antonio title for trainer Eric Kruljac and Bob Baffert has two runners – Eight Rings and Azul Coast – in the field of seven.

San Antonio entries

5:12 p.m. – Santa Anita Mathis Brothers Mile Stakes

With Hit the Road opting to stretch out in the San Gabriel, the Mathis Brothers Mile came up a very competitive race, with Del Mar's G1 Hollywood Derby upset winner Beyond Brilliant the 5-2 morning line favorite for trainer John Shirreffs and jockey Kent Desormeaux. Du Jour is the second choice at 3-1 on the morning line for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Flavien Prat. The Temple City colt is two-for-two over the Santa Anita turf, breaking his maiden and adding an allowance win there earlier this year. He also won the G2 American Turf Stakes on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs.

Santa Anita Mathis Brothers Mile entries

5:44 p.m. – La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita

Private Mission threw down ridiculously fast fractions before hitting the wall on the stretch turn and finishing last in the G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff going 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar. The Into Mischief filly trained by Bob Baffert showed the ability to win against good company going two turns in the G2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita in October, but she might find the elongated seven-furlong sprint distance even more to her liking here. The 8-5 morning line favorite will be ridden by Flavien Prat. None of the other six fillies have faced as tough a competition as Private Mission has, though the other Baffert filly in the line-up, Kalypso, did win the G2 Santa Ynez over the same distance at Santa Anita last January.

La Brea entries

6:49 p.m. – Runhappy Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita

How good is Flightline? The Tapit colt earned respective Beyer Speed Figures of 105 and 114 while winning his first two starts by a combined 18 lengths – a maiden race at Santa Anita in April and a Sept. 5 allowance race at Del Mar – but this will be the first stakes test for the John Sadler runner. The $1-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase hasn't missed a beat in his training and gets leading West Coast rider Flavien Prat, also the regular rider of Dr. Schivel, the second choice in the morning line for the Malibu. Dr. Schivel, who lost the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint by a nose to Aloha West, always brings his “A” game, and the Mark Glatt-trained colt by Violence figures to be right in the thick of things. Rising Southern California star Juan Hernandez, who rode Dr. Schivel to a maiden victory in 2020, will be aboard. An interesting wild card is Baby Yoda, a Bill Mott-trained invader from the East who received a 114 Beyer Speed Figure for an allowance race win at Saratoga on Sept. 4 the day before Flightline won at Del Mar. He's had two disappointing runs since then but gets Jose Ortiz back aboard.

Runhappy Malibu entries

7:20 p.m. – American Oaks at Santa Anita

It's impossible to overlook Going Global's perfect four-for-four record over the Santa Anita turf course or her overall mark of seven wins in 11 starts. The five-time graded stakes winner is one of two Phil D'Amato runners in the line-up for the American Oaks, which begins midway down the hillside turf course and takes one lap around the infield oval. Michael McCarthy has four entered in the 11-horse Oaks field, none of them stakes winners but all capable of improvement. The best of his quartet might be Nicest, an Irish-bred daughter of American Pharoah who was good third in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and third in the G1 Irish Oaks a month later. She will have John Velazquez aboard for her third U.S. stakes try. Two other shippers, Chad Brown-trained Fluffy Socks, a two-time graded stakes winner, and Victoria Oliver-trained Core Values, make the American Oaks a challenging race to handicap.

American Oaks entries

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Weekend Lineup: Pegasus Prep Day At Gulfstream

This weekend's horse racing action is highlighted by a quartet of graded stakes race at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, featuring preps for the track's Pegasus World Cup card in late January. The best gambling race on the card is likely the Grade 2 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes on the grass, which drew an overflow field of 13 to contest nine furlongs.

In addition, Saturday will feature a pair of $500,000 stakes for New York-bred 2-year-olds at Aqueduct, and a pair of $100,000 stakes races for Maryland-bred or -sired 2-year-olds at Laurel Park.

Prior to all that, Kentucky Derby points are on the line in the Remington Park Springboard Mile on Friday night in Oklahoma.

Saturday

1:54 p.m. – G3 Suwannee River Stakes at Gulfstream

As Pegasus World Cup Day looms on the horizon, owners Chris Pallas and Harvey Rothenberg and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. are hoping to navigate Saturday's $100,000 Suwannee River (G3) as a way to the inaugural $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G3) next month.

Shifty She became a graded-stakes winner in her most recent start, a front-running 1 ½-length triumph in the one-mile Noble Damsel (G3) Oct. 23 at Belmont Park. It followed a summer and fall away from her South Florida home that included a third in the Aug. 8 De La Rose at Saratoga and fourth in the Sept. 11 Ladies Turf (G3) at Kentucky Downs, beaten 1 ¾ lengths each time.

There was some consideration given to training Shifty She up to the Pegasus program, scheduled this year for Jan. 29, but the Suwannee River gives the 5-year-old Gone Astray mare six weeks to the 1 1/16-mile Filly & Mare Turf and comes at a distance where she is 3-for-6 lifetime.

Sanford Bacon and Patrick Biancone Racing's Kelsey's Cross will be seeking her first win in five starts since beating Shifty She in April. The 5-year-old mare, trained by Biancone, ran third in the 2019 Wonder Again (G3) at Belmont as a 2-year-old, won the 2020 Ginger Punch and ran third in the Hillsborough (G2) as a 3-year-old, and has placed in five other stakes. Sixth in a one-mile handicap Nov. 27 at Gulfstream, her only dirt start in 23 career races, she ran fifth in last year's Suwannee River behind multiple Grade 1 winner Starship Jubilee.

Other graded winners in the field are Alms, Keeper of Time and Sweet Melania. Godolphin's Alms, a homebred daughter of City Zip, won her first four career races including the six-furlong Matron (G3) at Belmont and one-mile Jimmy Durante (G3) at Del Mar in 2019 to cap her juvenile campaign. She is winless in her last four, spread out from February 2020 to Nov. 25 at Fair Grounds, where she was beaten a neck when second in the Joseph R. Peluso Memorial. During that time she also ran third by a head in the July 2020 Appalachian (G2), which preceded a 15-month layoff.

Suwannee River Entries

3:28 p.m. – G3 Sugar Swirl Stakes at Gulfstream

Frank's Rockette will be on a quest to add another graded-stakes success to her resume Saturday at Gulfstream Park, where the Frank Fletcher Racing Operations Inc.'s homebred filly scored the first stakes victory of her racing career nearly two years ago. The 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief is scheduled to race seven other fillies and mares in the $100,000 Sugar Swirl (G3), a six-furlong sprint.

OXO Equine LLC's Center Aisle will seek her first stakes victory Saturday while coming off a pair of impressive of optional claiming and allowance victories at Churchill Downs and Keeneland in her first two starts for trainer Paulo Lobo. Formerly trained by Chad Brown, the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief finished third behind Frank's Rockette in both the Victory Ride (G3) and Prioress (G2) last year.

Breeze Easy LLC's Bronx Beauty, who lost last year's Sugar Swirl by a head, is slated to return in the six-furlong sprint. The 5-year-old stakes-winning daughter of Liaison is coming off an Sept. 6 allowance victory at Monmouth Park.

Arindel's Quinoa Tifah, Cumberland Stables' Music City Star and Team Hanley and Paul Braverman's Loriloupies are also entered in the Sugar Swirl after finishing first, second and third, respectively, in an optional claiming allowance at Gulfstream.

Sugar Swirl Entries

3:59 p.m. – G3 Harlan's Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream

Repole Stable's Fearless will make a bid to return to graded stakes-winning form while making his second start off a six-month layoff in Saturday's $150,000 Harlan's Holiday (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Fearless is coming off a second-place finish in the Nov. 21 Miami Gardens overnight handicap, in which he lost for the first time in fourth starts at Gulfstream. The 5-year-old Ghostzapper gelding was the even-money favorite in his first start since finishing third in the May 14 Pimlico Special (G3).

Multiple graded-stakes winner Mighty Heart looms as a formidable opponent for Fearless in the Harlan's Holiday. The Lawrence Cordes homebred is coming off a front-running victory in the Autumn (G2) at Woodbine after finishing fourth in the Durham Cup (G3). The 4-year-old son of Dramedy won the 2020 Queen's Plate over Woodbine's Tapeta surface before capturing the Prince of Wales on dirt at Fort Erie. The Ontario-bred colt won the Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs, finished second in the West Virginia Governor's Cup (G3) at Mountaineer, and finished third in an optional claiming allowance at Keeneland in his other starts on dirt.

Owner/trainer Steve Budhoo's Eye of a Jedi, who finished second in last year's Harlan's Holiday, will seek to improve on a trio of recent starts at a mile around one turn. The 6-year-old gelding won the 1 1/8-mile Ghostzapper (G3) around two turns with Javier Castellano aboard last year. The Hall of Fame rider will return aboard Eye of a Jedi Saturday.

James Woodruff's Blue Steel, winner of the Claiming Crown Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial; Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, Peter Deutsch and Pantofel Stable LLC's South Bend, an optional claiming allowance winner at Churchill Downs; and Calumet Farm's Twenty Twice round out the field.

Harlan's Holiday Entries

4:32 p.m. – G2 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream

Already with a handful of prospects for next month's $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), a race he won in 2020, trainer Mike Maker may wind up strengthening his hand following Saturday's $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

Maker will send out two of the seven horses he nominated to the Fort Lauderdale, Atone and Media Blitz, as well as supplemental entry Order and Law. Three Diamonds Farm's Atone is a 4-year-old Into Mischief gelding with four wins in nine career tries on grass, two of them coming in his last three starts, most recently a 2 ½-length optional claiming allowance triumph Nov. 21 at Aqueduct.

Media Blitz will be making his first start since Maker spent $100,000 to claim the 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro colt for himself out of a third-place finish Nov. 26 at Del Mar. He has faced graded company twice previously this year, finishing off the board in the Del Mar Handicap (G2) and John Henry Turf Championship (G2).

Order and Law was also claimed at Del Mar, this time for $80,000 on behalf of Paradise Farms Corp. The 5-year-old gelding – whose grandsire, Shakespeare, was a multiple Grade 1 winner on turf – ran fifth in the Oct. 2 City of Hope Mile (G2) in his first start for Maker. He rebounded to finish second by a neck at odds of 10-1 behind favored Neptune's Storm in the one-mile Lure, also at Santa Anita.

Ft. Lauderdale Entries

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Weekend Lineup Presented By Hialeah Park NHC Qualifier: Hong Kong International Races

This weekend's horse racing action is highlighted by a quartet of Grade 1 turf races in Hong Kong which have drawn an international cast, including Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare turf heroine Loves Only You.

Stateside, the stakes action is led by the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity and the G3 Mr. Prospector on Saturday. Additionally, Arkansas Derby winner Super Stock returns in Oaklawn's $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes on Saturday.

Saturday

4:25 p.m. – $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds

The best effort of 6-year old Grand Luwegee's career came when he won this race last year at Fair Grounds, his lone start at 1 ⅛ miles on dirt. A muddy track last year may have contributed to his 52-1 shocker, and a Saturday forecast repeat that could be to his liking for the 30th start of his career as he has never finished out of the money out of 6 starts in the mud. Add to that jockey Colby Hernanadez is back up and we have the recipe for this Gerard Perron owned, bred, and trained horse to take the big stack and move less than $10,000 away from a cool half million.

But he'll have company out front with the presence of Pound for Pound. No rider has been more assertive with her speedy mounts so far at Fair Grounds than Aubrie Green who rides the 2019 Classic champion, who missed the race last year. Owned by Israel Flores Horses, bred by Jay Adcock & B & B Bloodstock, this early mover also knows how to fight off rivals late. Seven of his 17 exacta finishes have come down to less than half a length. Trained by Andrea Ali, the 6-year old horse drew post 3 and could follow Grand Luwegee until ready to punch.

Louisiana Champions Day Classic Entries

5:05 p.m. – G3 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park

Endorsed, 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. He was claimed for $100,000 out of a third-place finish in an Aug. 26 optional claiming allowance at Saratoga, but 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.

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.

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.

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.

Mr. Prospector Entries

5:13 p.m. – $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes at Oaklawn Park

Super Stock, winner of the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) last April at Oaklawn, is among seven 3-year-olds entered in Saturday's inaugural $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes.

Super Stock exits a 1 ¼-length victory in the $250,000 Zia Park Derby Nov. 23 at Zia Park for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and his father/co-owner, Keith Asmussen. In addition to the Arkansas Derby, Super Stock won the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby Aug. 15 at Ellis Park.

Poinsettia Entries

6:58 p.m. – G2 Los Alamitos Futurity at Los Alamitos

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will send out Messier and Barossa as he seeks his eighth consecutive victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 Los Alamitos Futurity Saturday.

A son of Empire Maker and the Smart Strike mare Cherokee Past has won two of three and earned $105,600. After finishing second as the odds-on favorite in his debut June 27 at Los Alamitos, the Canadian bred has gone back-to-back, prevailing by a combined 10 lengths. In his most recent appearance, Messier won the Grade 3 Bob Hope by three lengths Nov. 14.

An Into Mischief colt out of the Flower Alley mare Bouquet Booth, Barossa, who has the same ownership group as Messier, finished ninth of 11 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 5. He's won once in four starts and earned $69,200. He broke his maiden at eight furlongs two starts back at Santa Anita.

Los Alamitos Entries

Sunday

1:00 a.m. – G1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin

G1 Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver lines up this weekend as the highest rated horse in the field with an international rating of 121 and has beaten last year's LONGINES Hong Kong Vase hero Mogul comfortably in three of their four meetings, including the Coronation Cup.

Meanwhile, Mogul returns to defend his title and leads a three-pronged attack on International Day at Sha Tin from the formidable Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore training and riding combination. The 4-year-old son of Galileo, has not won in four starts since last year's Hong Kong success. However, that victory was his third from as many runs right-handed at 2400 metres on good ground and jockey Moore believes his 2021 performances can be excused.

Hong Kong Vase Entries

1:40 a.m. – G1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin

Danon Smash was a smashing victor of last year's G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (six furlongs), and will defend his crown this Sunday.

But before all of this, his sire – Lord Kanaloa – now one of the top stallions in Japan, gave Danon Smash's handler – Takayuki Yasuda – two crowns in the Hong Kong Sprint (2012 & 2013).

A 6-year-old now and readying for his final start before stallion duties, Danon Smash kicked off his campaign with victory in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) first-up in March (this year) to register his first top-level win in Japan. It was also another father-and-son achievement following the pair's triumphs in the Hong Kong Sprint.

Hong Kong Sprint Entries

2:50 a.m. – G1 Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin

Gearing up for his toughest test to date and the chance to create history, Hong Kong's Horse of the Year Golden Sixty will step away from barrier two in Sunday's Hong Kong Mile. This weekend, the 6-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro will bid to extend his winning thread to 16 and his overall tally to 19 wins – a new local record in Hong Kong.

Golden Sixty shares the current mantle of 18 wins in town with Silent Witness and Beauty Generation. And Lui describes the quirky but incredibly talented gelding as the horse of a lifetime.

Hong Kong Mile Entries

3:30 a.m. – G1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin

No matter where she finishes in the Hong Kong Cup (2000m, or 1 1/4 miles), those watching will be witnessing both history in the making and a history maker, Japan's champion mare with an endearingly fetching name – Loves Only You.

The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup will be the final race for Loves Only You, capping a short, star-studded, and decidedly international career, which has seen the now 5-year-old daughter of Deep Impact land one of the most elusive overseas wins for Japan – its first Breeders' Cup victory, while her FWD QEII Cup triumph at Sha Tin earlier this year came at her first Hong Kong sortie.

Hong Kong Cup Entries

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