A leisurely 1200m barrier trial has filled jockey Vincent Ho with confidence that Golden Sixty (Medaglia d’Oro) remains on target to extend an imposing winning sequence to 13 with a third Group One triumph in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on 21 February.
Placed under no pressure at all, Golden Sixty finished seventh in an eight-horse trial over 1200m on the dirt at Sha Tin, crossing the line eight lengths behind Ka Ying Star, who clocked 1m 09.58s for the trip.
Preparing for a return to 2000m for the first time since the 2020 BMW Hong Kong Derby, Golden Sixty delighted Ho with an unruffled trial effort after his narrow last-start triumph in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) over Southern Legend on 24 January.
“He felt really good, I’m happy with him,” Ho said. “I just let him stretch out with the faster pace, just kept him happy.”
Ho, who has been aboard Golden Sixty in all of his 15 wins (from 16 starts), said trainer Francis Lui had adopted a more relaxed approach with the star gelding, who is bearing down on Silent Witness’ record of 17 successive Hong Kong victories.
“Pretty similar (preparation), but he has been more relaxed work-wise, which has been good,” Ho said of the five-year-old’s work.
“He feels really well, looks really well and, as usual, he can be a bit grumpy in the box but out here, he’s really curious and looks around.”
