Golden Sixty draws outside barrier in Hong Kong Mile
The now eight-year-old holds the record for the most Group 1 wins in Hong Kong (nine) and will attempt to join Good Ba Ba as the only three-time winner of the Hong Kong Mile.
A winner of 25 of his 29 career starts, he first won the mile in 2020, before collecting his second in 2021.
Golden Sixty was surprisingly upstaged by California Spangle in this race last year, though connections remain confident he can make it Group 1 win number 10 on Sunday.
Unbeaten in six previous first up attempts, the stable elected to bypass last month’s Jockey Club Mile and will go into Sunday’s feature off a 224 day break.
Installed as a warm favourite prior to the draw, he has now drifted to $2.60 with betting sites which would be his biggest starting price since September 2019.
Fellow Hong Kong superstar Lucky Sweynesse fared much better on Thursday morning, drawing barrier five in the Hong Kong Sprint.
Beaten at his first two starts to begin this preparation, Lucky Sweynesse returned to his winning ways last start when scoring narrowly in the Jockey Club Sprint.
Much better suited under the set weights conditions on Sunday, he looks to get a charmed run for Zac Purton with notable speed horse Victor The Winner drawn directly to his inside.
Lucky Sweynesse has been building nicely towards his Grand Final and a peak performance will see Purton collect his third Hong Kong Sprint, having won twice aboard Aerovelocity (2014 and 2016).
Cox Plate hero Romantic Warrior drew seven of 11 in the Hong Kong Cup as he aims to defend his crown.
All reports have been positive since his return, after they overcame a few issues to land the big prize in Australia.
The main market dangers Prognosis and Rousham Park, both from Japan, drew barriers six and 11 respectively.
The Hong Kong Vase sees Japanese raider Lebensstil the early favourite for star jockey Joao Moreira, after drawing seven of nine, while the Aidan O’Brien trained Warm Hearted draw barrier one for Ryan Moore.
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