Waikuku beats Golden Sixty in Stewards’ Cup, Latest Racing News - The New Paper
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Waikuku beats Golden Sixty in Stewards’ Cup

Waikuku played giant-killer at Sha Tin yesterday, beating Golden Sixty in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup over 1,600m, which denied him a record-equalling straight success.

Aiming to extend his unbeaten sequence to 17, the champion’s win streak ended after finishing second in the afternoon’s feature. 

It was his first defeat in nearly 900 days, leaving Silent Witness as the sole record-holder for consecutive wins in Hong Kong.

Given a supreme ride by Zac Purton, Waikuku scored his second Stewards’ Cup success after prevailing in 2020. It gave trainer John Size his seventh victory.

“He’s run many horses down the last few years. He’s a champion and, obviously, the race wasn’t run to suit him today,” said Purton, of Golden Sixty.

“I was really happy with the way the race was run. I was in a lovely rhythm and I knew he was going to give me a kick.

“But, with Golden Sixty in the race, you’re never home until you pass the post.

“I thought with the way the race was run, and the position we were in, if I could just get first run on him and have him try and run me down again, that was what I was thinking. Fortunately today, we were able to hold on.” 

Waikuku beat Golden Sixty by 3/4 lengths in 1min 34.82sec. 

Russian Emperor was third, a similar margin away.

Sent off as a 14-1 chance, Waikuku stepped away cleanly from Gate 4. He settled behind Healthy Happy, who led for the most part, before taking over around the 350m mark.

“He is (a good horse) on his day and he’s shown that and Golden Sixty has had to fight really hard to get past him a couple of times,” said Purton.

Size, who previously savoured Stewards’ Cup glory with Electronic Unicorn (2002 and 2003), Super Kid (2004), Armada (2007) and Glorious Days (2013), was also pleased.

“The horse has trained up very well since the beginning of the season. He’s done everything correctly,” he said. “He hasn’t had a moment’s problem and he’s kept on improving as every month has passed. 

“So, to get a nice run like that today, he was able to capitalise on it and kick on and win the race.”

Victory in yesterday’s HK$12 million (S$2.07 million) contest has taken Waikuku’s earnings to HK$43.8 million. He is now an eight-time winner in Hong Kong, after arriving from Ireland where he was trained by John Oxx.

The horse was Purton’s third Stewards’ Cup winner, after Fellowship (2010) and Beauty Generation (2019).

Golden Sixty was nothing short of courageous, clocking a slick 21.95sec for his final 400m – a Herculean performance, especially from the tail of the field.

But now, it is onwards and upwards for the brilliant son of Medaglia d’Oro. He will next be tasked with either the Group 1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup over 1,400m or defend his crown in the Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup over 2,000m on Feb 20.

“The horse is okay – he appears to have pulled up well,” said trainer Francis Lui. 

“It was just the draw. The way the race was run, he needed to be closer. But, from the inside, it wasn’t possible today.”

Earning HK$2.64 million for second, Golden Sixty has edged closer to the HK$100 million mark. Beauty Generation holds the record of HK$106.23 million. - HKJC

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