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Gold run for Gold-Fun in Group 2 Jockey Club Mile victory
After missing out by a head in the G2 LONGINES Jockey Club Cup, trainer Richard Gibson and owner Pan Sutong gained recompense about half an hour later when GOLD-FUN continued his impressive campaign with victory in the G2 BOCHK Wealth Management Jockey Club Mile.
The talented Irish import booked his ticket to the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile on 8 December with a cheeky short-head victory from the ever battling HELENE SPIRIT. GOLD-FUN looked the winner turning in, but it took the entire length of the Sha Tin stretch to best his game front-running rival and Gibson was quick to praise the skills of winning rider Olivier Doleuze.
“I think it was a masterful ride from Olivier Doleuze,” said Gibson of the Frenchman, who coaxed the gelding to a cosy verdict close home. “We were concerned about being trapped on the fence but not only did he ride the horse very patiently, I thought he rode him with a lot of confidence and I don’t think he gave him a hard race either.”
“Olivier’s got a lot of faith in this horse, he knows him very well, it all worked really well third-up – he predicted that scenario and they’re a really good winning combination.”
GOLD-FUN is the new sensation in the Hong Kong mile division this term and came into this afternoon’s race aiming to maintain this season’s unbeaten streak, a run that had taken in victories in the HKG3 National Day Cup (1400m) and the HKG2 Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (1600m).
“The horse has had a fantastic season and it’s going to be a proud moment for us waving the Hong Kong flag on international day. We’ve only got three weeks, so it will be a straightforward procedure. We tried to almost under-train him going into this race and I think he’ll lose a bit of weight going into the big one. He was 5 kilos up for this one, so we hope we’ve got a bit left in the can – we’re going to need it against those top fillies (MOONLIGHT CLOUD and SKY LANTERN) if they line up.”
GOLD-FUN stopped the clock at 1m 33.89s with XTENSION taking third, a further length away. The latter showed some of the old sparkle that took him to two G1 Champions Mile wins but which has been missing for the past year.
