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| Staff Writer |
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It was not the best of news for Golden Sixty as he drew the widest barrier of his career at the Group One Longines Hong Kong Mile task at Sha Tin on Thursday. The 8YO will face a full field for the first time since he won the 2020 Hong Kong Derby and will be jumping from barrier 14 in his first run since his victory in the Group One Champions Mile on April 30.
“Of course, it’s not an ideal draw, and it makes things difficult for [jockey] Vincent [Ho Chak-yiu],” said trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai after a collective gasp filled the air during Thursday’s barrier draw in the Sha Tin parade ring.
“Midfield with cover, of course [would be best from there]. If you look at the field, I think California Spangle will lead, and he will slow down the pace. Probably, this race will be run at a slow pace.
“It’s going to be difficult. I think I will leave it to the jockey. I think the horse knows what to do. He has run so many races, and it all depends on the situation.”
Golden Sixty, the world's highest-earning racehorse, has the chance to make history again if he wins the Hong Kong Mile this Sunday after a 224-day break. However, he won't have to be the first horse to win the race from gate 14 as Beauty Flash (2010), Catalan Opening (1997), and Additional Risk (1991) have already accomplished that. If he succeeds, he won't even be the oldest horse to win the race, with Able One winning at nine years old in 2011.
"Everything is fine otherwise. I’ve looked after him, and the horse has looked after himself,” Lui said of his champion, who chases a Hong Kong record-extending 10th Group One win – two of which have come in the Hong Kong Mile – in what is all but certain to be his last season in training.
The draw for the Hong Kong Cup saw Romantic Warrior, the Group One Cox Plate hero, draw gate seven, the same gate from which he won the city's richest race in 2022. Reigning Hong Kong Mile champion California Spangle drew gate three, Beauty Eternal will jump from barrier five, and Namur joins Golden Sixty in the car park.
Lucky Sweynesse, who aims to banish the horrors of last year's Hong Kong Sprint, fared better in the draw, exiting gate five as the city's premier speedster. Wellington's jockey this weekend, Alexis Badel, will have barrier three at his disposal in the same race. Unfortunately, well-credentialed Japanese stayer Shahryar is out of Sunday's Hong Kong Vase due to a potential health issue.