Third straight Group 1 for Australian-bred son of Medaglia d’Oro
Australian-bred Golden Sixty (5 g Medaglia d'Oro - Gaudeamus by Distorted Humor) extended his unbeaten run to 13 straight wins with victory in Sunday’s Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) at Sha Tin.
However, Hong Kong’s highest rated horse was forced to spare no effort as he scrambled to add a third consecutive Group 1 to his glittering record which now stands at 16 wins from 17 starts, four shy of Silent Witness’ record 17 consecutive wins.
Dropped out to his customary position at the rear of the field, the son of former Darley shuttler Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado) began his surge in the straight but the challenge from New Zealand-bred Furore (Pierro) on the inside required jockey Vincent Ho to call on everything that Golden Sixty could give and, it proved just enough in a time of 2:0.25 seconds by a short-head, the smallest margin of any of his wins.
“I was quite confident that I would stay ahead of them but we fought hard – it wasn’t easy, it was a bit unexpected to be that close,” Ho said.
“I was just worried about the horse to the inside of him because Golden Sixty laid in a bit, he would have won easier if he didn’t do that.
“Once he went past Exultant he wanted to lay in – it made it difficult for me but it’s still a victory.”
Today’s win was both a first in the Gold Cup for trainer Francis Lui and jockey Vincent Ho.
“I think you can’t really change the horse’s character – when he passed the third horse (Exultant), Golden Sixty thinks he has finished the job, but there’s another horse on the inside,” Lui said.
The 131-rater is now only two wins shy of Beauty Generation’s (Road To Rock) single-season record of eight and he has the first two legs of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown in the bag after claiming last month’s Stewards’ Cup (Gr 1, 1600m).
“I will think about the third leg of the Triple Crown, we also have a race in April in mind,” Lui said.
The third and final leg of the Triple Crown is the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) on May 23.
Initially sold for $120,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to Riverslea Park and Enigma Farm from the draft of Element Hill, Golden Sixty was then bought by Francis Lui for NZ$300,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale later that year.
He is one of five winners out of Irish Group 2 winner Gaudeamus (Distorted Humor) who was bought by Josh Hutchins Bloodstock for $160,000 at the 2015 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
All Winners Thoroughbreds bought the Capitalist (Written Tycoon) colt out of Gaudeamus for $425,000 at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the draft of Element Hill and she has most recently been covered by Coolmore Stud-based stallion Vancouver (Medaglia d’Oro) - meaning the resulting foal will be a three-quarter sibling to Golden Sixty.
Medaglia d’Oro shuttled to Australia for eight seasons, but did not return in 2018 and he is now represented in Australia by his three sire sons, Vancouver, Astern and Nostradamus. Medaglia d’Oro is standing at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Kentucky for a fee of US$150,000 in 2021.
