Golden Sixty

Barriers were drawn Thursday morning in the Sha Tin parade ring for Sunday's FWD Champions Day meeting, featuring a trio of Group 1 events worth a combined HK$63 million (about US$8.1 million). Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) is perfectly drawn for his get-back, run-on style that has seen him greet the judge on no fewer than 13 straight occasions, including the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile and G1 Stewards' Cup in his two most recent trips at the 1600 metres. He faces just five others in the G1 FWD Champions...

After impressive displays during the Dubai World Cup card, Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and TDN Rising Star Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) share the top spot with a 122 ranking in the second edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2021. The rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee and published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). Mishriff, who led the rankings following his victory in the Saudi Cup, switched back to turf and won the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic next time out....

Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) and Furore (NZ) (Pierro {Aus}), winners of the BMW Hong Kong Derby in 2020 and 2019, respectively, treated racing fans to an epic final-furlong battle in Sunday's G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup, with the undisputed current king of the hill in the jurisdiction just clawing his way past Furore to take his current winning streak to 13 and his overall record to a spectacular 16 from 17. Golden Sixty is now within four victories of the record currently held by the legendary Silent Witness...

Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) had to channel his inner Usain Bolt in Sunday's G1 Stewards' Cup at Sha Tin, as the 5-year-old sprinted his final half-mile in a mind-boggling :44.18 and final 400 metres in a staggering :21.80 to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. His record now stands at 16 starts for 15 wins and his 12th consecutive score draws him ever closer to the local record of 17 straight held by the legendary Silent Witness (Aus). Very little went according to script. With Zac Purton steering,...

Exiting an imperious victory in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Dec. 13, Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) goes in search of his 12th consecutive victory and 15th from 16 starts overall when he takes on a field of mostly familiar faces in Sunday's G1 Stewards' Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse. Winner of seven straight during the 2019/2020 season, including a sweep of the 4-year-old Classics, the Queensland-bred gelding has yet to be tested in four runs this term and his Hong Kong Mile success came at the expense of...

by Alan Carasso Hong Kong was in the throes of massive social unrest at the time of the 2019 Longines Hong Kong International Races, protests had taken place at the Chinese University of Hong Kong literally steps away from Sha Tin Racecourse, and the city bore the scars of the same. The tension was palpable, yet the Hong Kong Jockey Club staged a successful renewal of the races, so successful, in fact, that record turnover of HK$1.71 billion was realised. Only weeks after, Hong Kong was enveloped in the global...

History tells us that when one darling of the Hong Kong turf fades into the sunlight, almost invariably--though not to be taken for granted--another one appears. Fairy King Prawn (Aus) was the marquee Hong Kong galloper at the turn of the century and it wasn't long after that Silent Witness (Aus) took the jurisdiction by storm, embarking on a 17-race winning streak that included back-to-back runnings of the G1 Hong Kong Sprint in 2003-2004. A Derby win often paves the path to Hong Kong super-stardom, and such was the case...

A total of 39 horses representing Hong Kong, Japan, Ireland and France were entered and barriers drawn Thursday morning for Sunday's HK$95 million Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting at Sha Tin Racecourse. Although Boniface Ho's Classique Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) has yet to win a race at Group 1 level--he is a multiple Group 2 winner in Australia--he is one of the marquee horses of this year's HKIR, having arrived in Hong Kong on the back of a dominating victory in the A$15-million The Everest at...

Barree Stable's Singapore-based Inferno (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) has been scratched from Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin after being found to be lame in his left front leg by Hong Kong Jockey Club veterinarians Tuesday. Very little went as planned for Inferno on his trip over to Hong Kong. The air conditioning in the horse float that transported Inferno from Kranji Racecourse to Changi Airport about 30 minutes away broke down and the horse was subjected to the heat for three hours. He then had...

It has been 12 months since Ballydoyle's Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was just beaten to the wire by Japan's Win Bright (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup, but that outfit's globetrotting Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will try to turn the tables as the marquee name among 15 foreign raiders for the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday, Dec. 13. No fewer than 17 international Group 1 winners are set to compete. "The Longines Hong Kong International Races is firmly established...

Prepping for his Group 1 debut in the Longines Hong Kong Mile in three weeks' time, Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) confirmed his status as the top horse in Hong Kong with yet another breathtaking victory--his 13th from 14 career runs--in Sunday's G2 Jockey Club Mile at Sha Tin Racecourse. Last year's Classic Series sweeper was simultaneously winning his 10th race on the hop, joining the likes of his contemporary Beauty Generation (NZ), Co-Tack (Aus) and Silent Witness (Aus) to take as many consecutive races. In the day's other main...

With a few notable exceptions, Sunday's Jockey Club programme at Sha Tin Racecourse has attracted more than two dozen of Hong Kong's top gallopers, each of whom have an eye on the Longines Hong Kong International Races, now just over three weeks away. Reigning Horse of the Year Exultant (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) is set to face eight other rivals as he preps for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m) in defence of his title in the G2 Jockey Club Cup (2000m). Winner of 11 of his 26 local appearances,...