Cover image courtesy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club
The nature of Hong Kong racing and the rich prizemoney on offer for horses at the elite level, has often led to the jurisdiction's best horses opting to stay at home, rather than take their talents on the road, whether it be elsewhere in Asia, or to the Middle East, Europe, North America or Australia.
Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock), the previous Mile superstar of Sha Tin, and one of two horses that Golden Sixty surpassed as the territory's winningest horse on Sunday, didn't leave Hong Kong after arriving from Australia early in his career. Plans for him to run in Dubai were scuppered and he remained 'in the bubble', winning a record HK$106 million (AU$18.96 million) in the process.
Beauty Generation (NZ) | Image courtesy of the HKJC
Silent Witness (El Moxie {USA}), the other 18-time winner from Hong Kong, did leave 'home' shores, running three times in Japan, including a win in the 2005 Sprinters S. at Nakayama. Another Australian-bred star, he won his first 17 races consecutively before being beaten in the 2005 Champions Mile.
A trip to the G1 Yasuda Kinen followed, his first international expedition, and while Silent Witness only managed third, he earned a wealth of respect for tackling the best Japanese milers on their home turf.
Silent Witness, winner of the 2004 Hong Kong Sprint | Image courtesy of Sportpix
It is that race, to be held next June, which looms as the most likely first international challenge for Golden Sixty, although trainer Francis Lui was playing his cards close to his chest when asked about future plans after his stable star's brilliant win on Sunday.
"I think at the moment, the next plan is to go to the Stewards Cup in January and after that, we will discuss later," he said.
"I think at the moment, the next plan is to go to the Stewards Cup in January and after that, we will discuss later." - Francis Lui
A win in that Stewards Cup, a Group 1 race he won comfortably earlier in 2021, would put him on 17 consecutive wins, on par with Silent Witness in terms of the greatest Hong Kong winning streaks.
What follows from that is the likelihood of the same path as last year, the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup in February and the G1 Champions Mile in April, meaning he could head to Japan on a 19-race streak. He would also likely surpass Beauty Generation as Hong Kong's greatest-ever earner.
The bubble dilemma
Japan may be geographically the closest elite racing jurisdiction to Hong Kong, but it is far from the easiest, with the quality of thoroughbred opposition evident in the fact that Japanese horses won two of the four Group 1 races in Hong Kong on Sunday, while their runners filled placings in the other two.
There is an argument to be made that while some of the world's best horses are willing to come to you, why bother to make the trip to meet them. Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) built an extraordinary record of 33-straight wins, 25 at Group 1 level, without ever leaving Australia.
Winx, winner of a record 33-straight wins
However, on the other hand, there are those who would argue that Black Caviar's (Bel Esprit) true greatness was not measured in her 24-run unbeaten streak on home soil, but by her narrow and courageous win at Royal Ascot in her lone overseas run.
Courtesy of his shock defeat at his fourth start, the only race where he raced up on the pace, Golden Sixty does not have a perfect record to protect, but his streak of 16 is still historically significant, especially a horse bred in this part of the world.
The streak
With 16-straight wins, he has now surpassed the best winning streaks of champions like Carbine (NZ) and Bernborough. Next on the list to tick off are horses like Ajax (18 wins), Gloaming and Desert Gold (NZ) (All Black {NZ}) (19 wins).
Gloaming, who amassed 19 wins in succession | Image courtesy of Wikipedia
On a global level, in terms of modern greats, his winning streak has now matched Cigar (USA), while he sits within reach of Zenyatta (USA) (Street Cry {Ire}), who won 19 consecutively.
There is an argument that while he may be six years old, Golden Sixty is still on the upward trend. Sunday's win was his fifth Group 1 win and came just 12 months after his first elite success.
As a comparison, Beauty Generation had nearly two and a half years between his first Group 1 win and his eighth and final victory. Similarly, Silent Witness had a two-year window from his first Group 1 win to his victory in the Sprinters S.
Golden Sixty | Image courtesy of the HKJC
For Australia's star mares of the 21st century, the window was even wider, with nearly four years between Winx's first Group 1 win and her last, while Black Caviar's unbeaten Group 1 romp extended two years and five months.
The American influence
Golden Sixty's breeders, the Hutchins family of Element Hill, can feel rightly proud of what their star has already achieved, but while he was foaled in Queensland in 2015, quite a deal is owed to his American bloodlines.
Josh, John and Fu-Mei Hutchins | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Beyond his own birthplace, Golden Sixty's pedigree back through five generations is almost exclusively North American-bred. His dam, Gaudeamus (USA) (Distorted Humor {USA}), was bred by the Magnanaro family in Kentucky and purchased by Richard Galpin’s Newmarket International for US$60,000 (AU$84,000) as a yearling through Keeneland September Yearling Sale, before being sent to Jim Bolger.
She hails from a family that had produced a slew of North American stakes winners and she added some international lustre to the page, winning a G2 Debutante S. and a Listed race as a 2-year-old in Ireland. She would also contest a G1 Irish Thousand Guineas before being retired at the end of her 3-year-old season.
Sheamus Mills, then a fledgling bloodstock agent looking for his first mare purchase, was the man responsible for bringing Gaudeamus to Australia. Telling the story to TDN AusNZ back in 2020, Mills said he had approached Bolger looking for a prospective purchase in 2008.
Sheamus Mills
"He said he had one but a young fellow like me being wet around the ears wouldn’t be able to afford it. He said she was a Group 2-winning 2-year-old by Distorted Humor and I thought at the time he was the bee’s knees," he said.
“He told me about her and I asked the price and he said, 'That’s too expensive for you by far'. I told him I was sure I could get a deal done.”
“He (Jim Bolger) told me about her (Gaudeamus) and I asked the price and he said, 'That’s too expensive for you by far'. I told him I was sure I could get a deal done.” - Sheamus Mills
The deal was done with Bob Scarborough's Wood Nook Farm securing Gaudeamus in foal to Pivotal (GB).
Seven years later, she was offered as part of a Wood Nook Farm dispersal at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, this time in foal to Darley's Medaglia D'Oro (USA).
Considering Medaglia D'Oro's Australian fee in 2015 was $110,000 (inc GST) after Vancouver had just won the Golden Slipper S., the $160,000 Josh Hutchins paid for Gaudeamus seemed a good deal.
Golden Sixty as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
The resultant foal returned Element Hill $120,000 to Riversley Park/Enigma Farm at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and later that year, it was Lui, via agent Willie Leung, securing him for NZ$300,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, where he was offered by Riversley Park.
That colt, sold once in utero and then twice through the ring, would end up under the ownership of Stanley Chan Ka Leung. He had three trials in New Zealand under the eye of Graham Richardson.
“From very early on we knew he could gallop. He was a very good horse, very easy to train,” Richardson said.
“From very early on we knew he (Golden Sixty) could gallop. He was a very good horse, very easy to train." - Graham Richardson
“We actually tried to convince the owners to keep him in New Zealand, but they wanted him in Hong Kong and it’s fantastic what he’s achieved up there. It’s been great to watch how good he’s become.”
Forged in Gold
Golden Sixty has become yet another champion by Darley stallion Medaglia D'Oro, who shuttled to Australia for eight years and has produced 31 Australian-bred stakes winners, including Group 1-winning stallion sons Vancouver and Astern as well as fellow elite winners Flit and Crown Prosecutor.
Of course, Medaglia D'Oro's influence from his base at Jonabell Stud in Kentucky has also been immense, with 127 Northern Hemisphere-bred stakes winners and 20 Grade/Group 1 winners.
Medaglia D'Oro (USA) | Standing at Darley America
Among them is Songbird (USA), the nine-time Grade 1-winning mare who sold for US$9.5 million (AU$13.2 Million) at Fasig-Tipton in 2017, and five-time Grade 1 winner Rachel Alexandra (USA). With five elite victories, Golden Sixty is now his leading son, with his other multiple Group/Grade 1-winning sons being Mshawish (USA) and Bolt D'Oro (USA).
Both those horses served some time at stud in Australia, while as it currently stands, his three Australian sons at stud are Vancouver at Coolmore, Astern at Darley and Nostradamus at Rosemont Stud.
