Golden Sixty was the talk of Happy Valley on Wednesday (15 April) night with trainer Francis Lui revealing that his sensational BMW Hong Kong Derby hero will not contest the Group 1 FWD QEII Cup on 26 April.
“He won't run,” Lui said. “He's achieved a lot this season and we feel he needs a rest now to refresh his mind and let him develop. He'll have a summer break and then we'll prepare him for next season.”
Golden Sixty dominated the Four-Year-Old Classic Series – winning all three legs – in the first quarter of this year and will down tools for a well-deserved break with a record of seven wins this term from as many starts.
That news boosted the prospects of last year's FWD QEII Cup (2000m) runner-up Exultant being able to go one place better for trainer Tony Cruz, whose smile broadened when he bagged a double at the city track thanks to California Rad and Sunshine Warrior.
The latter benefitted from an astute and powerful Chad Schofield ride to take the Class 3 Fountain Palm Handicap (1650m). The jockey has now nabbed at least one win at seven race meetings in a row.
“He did that nicely,” Cruz said. “This horse has won two in a row so he seems to like the Valley but he's just a solid Class 3 horse.”
Cruz was also instrumental in Karis Teetan's completion of a double on the nine-race card.
The Mauritian guided the Cruz-trained California Rad to a breakthrough score in section two of the Class 4 Larch Handicap (1200m).
“I was trialling him when he first started and I said to Tony he had a lot of ability but he was very green and immature,” Teetan said.
“He's run some very good races this season but I think he wasn't ready until now. Today, with the blinkers on for the first time, he felt different, he felt like he'd improved a lot and I think he'll improve more for this.”
That win followed a first race score atop Humble Steed (126lb) – trainer Benno Yung's 200th career win – in the opener, the Class 5 Walnut Handicap (1650m).
“He was dropped down in class and he had the perfect run today. I'd worked the horse and Benno had him in very good condition, so all credit to him,” the rider said after edging a three-way finish by a short-head from Nitro Express (132lb) and V Chevaliers (131lb) who crossed in unison to share second.
Teetan's brace took him to 59 wins for the term, 25 short of last season's personal best score of 84, with 25 race meetings of the current campaign remaining.
“I never set any target, I just keep riding hard and try to win on every horse I ride,” Teetan said. “The main thing here in Hong Kong is to just keep the momentum going and try to get more support.”