Golden Sixty Scores Record Breaking HK Derby Win

The HK$20 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday was won in race record time by outstanding gelding Golden Sixty, an Aussie bred son of Darley’s champion sire Medaglia D’Oro (USA), whose last crop of Southern Hemisphere bred yearlings are selling in 2020.

The victory completed a brilliant whitewash of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series for the Francis Lui trained Golden Sixty.

The win was a first in the race for jockey Vincent Ho, who ended a run of outs for ‘homegrown’ riders in the ‘blue riband’ going back to 1995; it was also a first Derby for trainer Francis Lui and owner Stanley Chan, and the first time in the professional era – since 1971 – that a native Hong Kong trainer, jockey and owner combined for victory.

“I think I can sleep well tonight, all the pressure on my shoulders has just gone,” Ho said after he had driven the hot favourite to a flashing neck win over outsider Playa Del Puente.

He charged home from back in the field with his closing 400m split of 21.83s, the fastest at the course and distance since Designs On Rome clocked 21.82s in the 2014 Jockey Club Cup. Golden Sixty’s final sprint ensured a race record time of 2m 00.15s.

Lui admitted to being “excited and panicked” when Ho angled Golden Sixty from behind horses into a wide alley, at least six lengths behind Playa Del Puente. The runner-up had made an audacious burst clear of the pack under Blake Shinn.

“Round the bend, they slowed down the pace and that’s why the other horse was able to run away but Golden Sixty showed excellent acceleration. I was worried but I could see Golden Sixty was trying very hard,” Lui explained.

Golden Sixty became only the second horse, after Rapper Dragon in 2017, to win all three legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series. This afternoon’s win followed his successes in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m).

“It’s an amazing feeling to win all the four-year-old classics and he’s a superstar for sure; I think today, especially, it was very difficult to come from behind and sprint like that,” Ho added.

Golden Sixty has the impressive record of 10 wins from 11 starts and Lui will now look to FWD Champions Day on 26 April with options in the G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m).

Golden Sixty was a $300,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale purchase for his trainer from the Riversley Park draft and was a super successful pinhook having been sourced from the Element Hill draft at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale for $120,000.

Golden Sixty is the best of four winners from US bred Irish Group III winner Gaudeamus (USA), a Distorted Humor mare from the family of Group I stars Bosra Sham and Hector Protector.

Gaudeamus has a filly foal by Capitalist and was covered last year by Widden Stud’s Trapeze Artist, who was Australia’s busiest first season sire in 2019.