Watch: Golden Sixty beaten again by ex-Coolmore star Russian Emperor

Sunday: Sha Tin

The formerly Aidan O'Brien-trained Russian Emperor chose quite the moment to claim his first victory in Hong Kong, inflicting a second straight defeat on dual Horse of the Year Golden Sixty under a brilliantly-executed ride from Blake Shinn in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup.

Russian Emperor and Golden Sixty were drawn widest of all in stalls nine and ten and with only a short run to the first bend at Sha Tim over a mile and a quarter, and no desire to force the issue, both Shinn and Vincent Ho were obliged to work back and over to the rail, giving all eight rivals a fair start.

Turning out of the back straight, Ho began to work Golden Sixty to the outside in preparation for his signature wide run but Shinn hugged the rail on Russian Emperor before angling out at the two-furlong marker, the ground saved giving him a two-length advantage he never surrendered.

On rain-softened ground, Golden Sixty was unable to produce anything like his normal finishing effort over a trip in which he has previously won both this race and the Hong Kong Derby.

Russian Emperor has produced some notable efforts in defeat this season, finishing third to Loves Only You in the Hong Kong Cup and then filling the same spot behind Waikuku and Golden Sixty in the Stewards' Cup over a mile last month.

But for trainer Douglas Whyte, who also saddled runner-up Savvy Nine, the son of Galileo was not winning out of turn.

"I think everybody realises that these European horses, once they have a full season or a full season and a half, they find their straps,” said Whyte.

"He [Golden Sixty] is a beautifully balanced horse with a lovely, fluid action so he might not have got through this ground – I've ridden here for 22-23 years as a jockey and when this light rain is about it’s when you notice the true difference in the track.

"When there's that heavy rain, it runs right through the track and drains. This light rain makes a difference and Russian Emperor was there to lap it up."

Connections agreed that the yielding conditions were a new factor for Golden Sixty.

"The conditions, for sure, played a part and the others just saved up all the ground," said Ho, who had partnered Golden Sixty to 16 straight victories before the Stewards' Cup defeat to Waikuku.

Wellington thrives for Badel and Gibson

Alexis Badel and Wellington both claimed a second Hong Kong Group 1 prize as the Richard Gibson-trained five-year-old produced a withering turn of foot in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.

A prolific winner on his rise up through the ranks, Wellington capped last season with top-level success over six furlongs in the Chairman's Sprint Prize but had been out of luck in three starts this campaign.

Waikuku was sent off the well-backed favourite to follow up his defeat of Golden Sixty over a mile.

Wellington and Alexis Badel surge clear in the Group 1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha TinCredit: Hkjc

However, and by the time he worked a passage, the winner was gone, while Ka Ying Star ran on from the back to pick off Waikuku late for second.

"As I said before the race today, we were a bit unlucky in running last time so we thought it was the right time to hit 1400m [seven furlongs] and I thought he did it with class and style today," said Gibson, who confirmed Wellington won't be travelling abroad anytime soon.

Badel said: "He’s a brilliant horse and I’m very happy because we’ve been so unlucky the first few runs this season."

Sha Tin results, replays and analysis

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