This year’s Group One Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) was billed as the race of the decade. It didn’t disappoint.
Until Friday, next month’s edition of the HK$13 million feature was supposed to be all about celebrating the horse of a lifetime.
But while Golden Sixty prevailed in that ding-dong battle in January, seeing off Romantic Warrior and California Spangle, the 10-time Group One winner won’t feature in the 2024 Stewards’ Cup after suffering an injury that was discovered on Wednesday.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for fans eagerly awaiting the next stage of their superstar’s farewell tour after Golden Sixty stunned the racing world with a first-up win in the Group One Hong Kong Mile that had to be seen to be believed.
We now wait in hope that the highest-earning racehorse ever makes it to his likely farewell race, April’s Group One Champions Mile, somewhere near his best.
In the meantime, though, there is an opportunity for one of the city’s new guard to step up and make their presence felt.
This year, Lucky Sweynesse was the only local galloper to taste Group One glory for the first time when saluting in February’s Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m).
It kicked off a dominant calendar year for the city’s big three, with Lucky Sweynesse (four Group One wins), Golden Sixty (four) and Romantic Warrior (two) winning 10 of the city’s 12 top-line events, while Russian Emperor made it back-to-back victories in the Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin in May.
French galloper Junko snared Sha Tin’s other Group One, winning the Hong Kong Vase (2,400m) earlier this month.
Come January 21, however, the absence of Golden Sixty could allow a new name to command the spotlight.
Romantic Warrior won’t be in the Stewards’ Cup either, assuming the Golden Sixty news doesn’t prompt Danny Shum Chap-shing to rejig his plan to give his gun middle-distance galloper a break ahead of February’s Group One Gold Cup (2,000m).
California Spangle will, and could well win if allowed his own way out in front, but after a couple of uninspiring performances from the 2022 Hong Kong Mile winner, Hong Kong racing would be far better served by a statement performance from one of last season’s four-year-old crop.
Voyage Bubble is the obvious one after a career-best performance when running Golden Sixty to a length and a half in the Hong Kong Mile.
Trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai has a high opinion of the reigning Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) hero, and he and Straight Arron are the city’s most likely Group One winners in waiting.
James McDonald was in the saddle when Voyage Bubble beat home all but Golden Sixty on December 10, finishing a length and a quarter clear of Japanese Group One winner Namur in third, and you would think the star Kiwi jockey will make the trip back to Hong Kong for the Stewards’ Cup after signing off on his stint in the city on New Year’s Day.
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Beauty Eternal, third behind Voyage Bubble in the Derby, is the other miler with the potential to take the next step.
Two lengths adrift of his Derby conqueror when sixth on international day, Beauty Eternal notched a Group Two victory in November’s Jockey Club Mile and champion jockey Zac Purton has long hoped he boasts top-level ability.
One way or another, 2024 will be the year Hong Kong’s mile division is forced to move on from the most successful horse the city has ever seen. Let’s hope the Stewards’ Cup offers enough to suggest there’s something to look forward to in the post-Golden Sixty era.
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