GOLDEN Sixty recorded his twenty-third victory in 27 starts, and pushed his earnings past €14.5 million, with his second success in the Group 1 The Stewards Cup at Sha Tin at the weekend. It was his seventh Group 1 win.

The seven-year-old Australian-bred has only once finished out of the money, and his three placed efforts include a second-place finish in The Stewards’ Cup last year, going down by less than a length to the Irish-bred Waikuku.

He has made a habit of winning important races twice, successfully defending the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile in December 2021, and just failing by a neck to win the race for the third time on his penultimate start, denied by the Irish-bred California Spangle.

He also won the Group 1 Champions Mile twice.

Additionally, Golden Sixty has been gathering lots of awards for his connections. He was Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year in 2020-21 and 2021-22, their champion miler in the same period, collected the award for champion middle-distance horse also in 2020-21, and before all of these was the champion four-year-old in Hong Kong in 2019-20.

Golden Sixty first came to prominence when he won the Hong Kong Derby, and since then 17 of his wins have been at group or listed level.

Other wins, in addition to those already mentioned, include the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (in which he was also placed), and the Group 2 Jockey Club Mile on three occasions. The son of Medaglia D’Oro (El Prado) is the best of six winning progeny of Gaudeamus, a daughter of Distorted Humor (Forty Niner) who was purchased as a yearling at Keeneland in 2005 for $60,000 and joined Jim Bolger’s string at Coolcullen.

She raced in the colours of Jackie Bolger who owned her in partnership with the late John Corcoran.

All Gaudeamus’ victories came at the age of two, a debut victory at Naas followed by wins in the Listed Woodpark and Ballysheehan Studs Stakes at the Curragh, and the Group 2 Robert H Griffin Debutante Stakes at Leopardstown.

Gaudeamus was sold to Australia, and Golden Sixty is, as you might imagine, her best runner.

The others include the Listed Tasmanian Derby-third and eight-time winner Igitur (Helmet), and the Group 3-placed dual Rainbow Connection (Choisir). These six winners come from nine foals, and two of the unplaced daughters of Gaudeamus have made amends and become winner-producing mares.

Having sold as a yearling for A$120,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, Golden Sixty went through the ring again as a two-year-old in New Zealand where he made NZ$300,000 to the bid of his current trainer Francis Lui.

Golden Sixty was bred by Asco International Pty Ltd in Queensland.

Stakes winner

Gaudeamus is the only stakes winner among seven winning progeny from the stakes-placed American runner Leo’s Lucky Lady (Seattle Slew). One who earned blacktype was Leo’s Luckyman (Woodman), trained by Mark Johnston, and his best effort was when third behind Dubai Destination and Rock Of Gibraltar in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at two.

His own-sister Seattle’s Wood (Woodman) bred the top Danish runner Falconet (Falco), winner of the Listed Dansk Pokallob three times, while she is grandam of the Group 3 Italian St Leger winner O’Juke (Jukebox Jury).

Two other blacktype siblings are worth mentioning, for very different reasons. Leo’s Pegasus (Fusaichi Pegasus) was stakes-placed at Saratoga but went on to produce the Santa Anita stakes winner Battle Force (Giant’s Causeway). Mark Johnston also handled the early career of Leo’s Lucky Star (Forestry), a dual winner at two who won five times over hurdles and fences, and ran third at Cheltenham in the Grade 3 Grand Annual Chase.

Leo’s Lucky Lady is a half-sister to Group 2 winner and Group 1 Prix de la Foret runner-up Keos (Riverman), the Italian champion and Group 2 winner Proskona (Mr Prospector), and the Group 3 winner Korveya (Riverman), dam of the Group 1 winners Hector Protector (Woodman), Bosra Sham (Woodman) and Shanghai (Procida). This is a family in which Golden Sixty is one of at least a dozen Group/Grade 1 winners in his first three removes. You could almost double the number if you bring in the fourth dam!

Darley’s Medaglia D’Oro has turned 24 and will stand for $100,000 (about €90,000) this year at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky. His 26 Group/Grade 1 winners include star mares Rachel Alexandra and Songbird, Golden Slipper champion Vancouver and Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Talismanic. He is also one of the leading broodmare sires in the USA.

Medaglia D’Oro was trained by Bobby Frankel for a record of eight wins and seven seconds in 17 starts, his successes including the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, Whitney Handicap and Donn Handicap (now the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes).