“It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln’s views on the ageing process come to mind as three-time Horse of the Year Golden Sixty bids to land his third Hong Kong Mile at the age of eight and the key facts are simple.
Very few horses are still at their very best aged eight; winning an international G1 after more than seven months off the track is tough; and an extra layer of complexity is added if you are drawn 14 against dangerous foes.
Last year’s Mile winner California Spangle is back again along with a relentlessly progressive Hong Kong hope in Beauty Eternal, while a five-strong Japanese contingent includes proven G1 performers including Serifos and Namur.
But, after 29 starts and nine G1 wins together, Vincent Ho knows Golden Sixty better than anyone. “When I ask him to pick up there is no turbo lag,” says the Formula 1 fan and new LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship champion.” Is the Golden boy’s turbo still firing? Sha Tin will erupt on Sunday if so.
LONGINES HONG KONG CUP (2000m)