Seeking a record fourth win in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1600m), Golden Sixty was unable to reel in Zac Purton aboard Beauty Eternal, eventually fading to finish fourth in what could be his final career run.
With the track downgraded to yielding after race one, Beauty Eternal ($12) made the most of a very slow tempo and held off all challengers to score by 1.5 lengths over Red Lion ($30), with Voyage Bubble ($6) a further quarter length away in third.
Jumping from the widest barrier, Purton had a plan pre-race and was able to execute it to perfection.
“There was no speed in the race, which gave us the opportunity to lead. The last thing I said to John [Size, trainer] before the race was ‘I think the going is a lot better on the fence,” Purton said.
“He just got into a lovely rhythm and controlled the race and I thought the only chance I had to beat Golden Sixty was to try to put a gap on them and see how we went and today was his day.”
Having been well beaten at his only other attempt on yielding ground, Vincent Ho said the conditions again didn’t suit Golden Sixty.
“It is what it is, we can’t fight the weather. I was in a great position and everything was close to the speed, but still we couldn’t improve on that ground,” Ho said.
Earlier in the day, in the first of the three Group Ones on the card, it was Hugh Bowman and Invincible Sage ($6.9) turning the tables on race favourite California Spangle ($2.4) and Brenton Avdulla in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).
Formerly known as Thron Bone when trained by Jerome Hunter in Australia, Invincible Sage enjoyed a perfect run under Bowman who tracked a hot speed and came clear on the soft ground, winning by 1.5 lengths, with Mugen and Blake Shinn finishing third.
“He is up to top class now. I think a rain-affected track may have assisted his performance, but even on a dry track I think we would have seen a winning performance today,” Bowman said.
Avdulla, who was aiming for a hattrick of Group One wins aboard California Spangle, said his mount went “terrific” after copping a lot of pressure on speed.
