All eyes were on Golden Sixty on Tuesday morning at Sha Tin as he continued his preparation towards the HK$12 million Group 1 Stewards' Cup (1600m) where he'll potentially meet both Romantic Warrior and California Spangle at Sha Tin on Sunday, January 29.
Feeling fresh ahead of his return, Golden Sixty bounced swiftly out of the gates only to stumble on exiting in batch one at this morning's barrier trial session, before jockey Vincent Ho straightened his mount to cross the line in 1m 11.12s behind only Galaxy Witness over 1200m on dirt.
“I think he came out a bit too quick and I think we lost a shoe, so he didn't really try over the last bit, we just looked after him over the last bit but he feels fine and it's no problem at all,” Ho said.
Golden Sixty is out to exact payback on California Spangle in the Stewards' Cup after the five-year-old halted his Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m) hat-trick bid at two.
The score between Golden Sixty and California Spangle is one-one this season, though last term, Golden Sixty defeated his younger adversary with ease in the 2022 Group 1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) in April.
Golden Sixty could face the two-time Group 1-winning Romantic Warrior for the first time in the Stewards' Cup. Romantic Warrior is on a Hong Kong Triple Crown trail for trainer Danny Shum, looking to become only the second horse in history to claim the three-race title after River Verdon (1994).
Hong Kong's Triple Crown comprises the Stewards' Cup, Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m).
Romantic Warrior won last season's Hong Kong Derby (2000m) and boasts a remarkable nine wins from 10 starts and HK$62.19 million in earnings.
“We'll give Golden Sixty another trial and a grass gallop as he loves to be on the turf, so we'll do that and slowly build him up back to where he was and I'm looking forward to the race,” Ho said.
Golden Sixty boasts a record HK$122.85 million in the bank from 22 wins and is currently Hong Kong's joint-highest rated horse on 130 along with Romantic Warrior.
January is shaping to be a busy month for trainer Francis Lui who is likely to saddle one of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series' lead protagonists in Packing Treadmill – also on Sunday, 29 January – in the million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin.
“He's in good form, next is the Hong Kong Classic Mile. I think after this run, you look at his pedigree and it doesn't look like he can handle further, so we'll see how he runs,” Lui said. “He's easy to handle, he's a very smart horse.”
Packing Treadmill has become a winning machine with six wins from eight starts, prevailing all three times this season including last start in Class 2 over 1600m.
Lui also remains pleased with Golden Sixty's preparation as he gears up for what is shaping as one of the most exciting contests in recent years at the end of January.
“Golden Sixty is good, he's the same. It's going to be a good race (Stewards' Cup), to see how they all run,” Lui said.
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