As COVID-19 limits spectator involvement
Persistent rain and wet turf scrambled the results in dual group 1 races Feb. 20 at Sha Tin Racecourse as Golden Sixty suffered his second straight defeat after 16 consecutive wins and Waikuku, his last-out conqueror, also came up short.
The upsets emphasized a generally gloomy day as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions kept all but essential personnel away from the races.
Russian Emperor emerged as a 4 1/4-length winner of the trouble-plagued Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1), skipping over 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) of yielding turf with a clear trip while Golden Sixty struggled over the heavy going and endured traffic problems.
Russian Emperor, a 5-year-old Galileo gelding, and Golden Sixty, by Medaglia d'Oro , raced together at the back of the field through the early furlongs. Jockey Blake Shinn positioned Russian Emperor outside his rival—a fortunate placing as Golden Sixty was forced out wide to avoid a horse in distress near the end of the backstretch run.
From that point, a gap opened for Russian Emperor while Vincent Ho had to take Golden Sixty widest of all. Unaccustomed to anything but good turf, the reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year couldn't make much headway and finished third, 1 1/4 lengths back of long shot Savvy Nine.
