Golden Sixty lands successive Hong Kong Horse of the Year title

HONG KONG • Golden Sixty's record-breaking performance during the just-ended 2021/22 racing season saw the kingpin being crowned Horse of the Year for the second year running.

The Francis Lui-trained six-year-old's efforts also returned back-to-back Champion Miler titles and secured the bulk of the public vote as Hong Kong's Most Popular Horse for a third year in a row.

After winning the Group 2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (1,600m) in his seasonal return, the son of Medaglia d'Oro soared to new heights soon after with his successful defence in the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile (1,600m) crown.

The result catapulted him to be the world's joint-top miler at the year-end Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings.

Though he suffered a pair of rare defeats in his following two outings as he failed to reach Silent Witness' record of 17 consecutive wins in Hong Kong, he soon recaptured his winning groove in the Group 2 Chairman's Trophy (1,600m).

He then closed the season in emphatic style by landing the Group 1 FWD Champions Mile (1,600m) - his 21st career triumph and the second win in the race in as many years.

Victory on FWD Champions Day saw Golden Sixty overtake Beauty Generation as Hong Kong's highest stakes earner with stakes of HK$113,400,600 (S$20.1 million).

The Danny Shum-trained Romantic Warrior made history this season as the first graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale to snare the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) with a dramatic victory over California Spangle.

The son of Acclamation then went up a notch to thrash a group of older rivals in the Group 1 FWD QEII Cup (2,000m) to join Werther (2016), Designs On Rome (2014), Ambitious Dragon (2011) and Vengeance Of Rain (2005) as victors of the Hong Kong Derby-QEII Cup double in the same season.

He also took top honours in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1,600m).

As such, he is a deserving recipient of both the Champion Middle-Distance Horse and Champion Four-Year-Old awards.

He was also named the season's Most Improved Horse after soaring 70 points to a career-high rating of 122, with seven wins from eight starts in just six months.

Wellington, trained by Richard Gibson, was named Champion Sprinter, after reeling off a hat-trick of wins at his final three runs.

They included a pair of impressive Group 1 victories - the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) and Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) on FWD Champions Day.

The Douglas Whyte-trained Russian Emperor was named Champion Stayer, noticeably with his victory in the Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m) and his domineering last-to-first in the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m).

Lucky Sweynesse's rapid rise did not go unnoticed, as Manfred Man's gifted youngster capped a remarkable first season as Champion Griffin, with five wins from seven starts. - HKJC