He fell only a head short of one of the best the city has ever seen, but trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing has confirmed Karis Teetan will be replaced for reigning Hong Kong Cup champion Romantic Warrior’s next start in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) on April 30.

Shum said after Romantic Warrior’s second behind Golden Sixty in Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m) “he ran a good race. He was only beaten by the champion. What can you say?”, but according to the veteran handler, owner Peter Lau Pak-fai is determined to make a change.

“There are a lot of options, but we haven’t made a decision yet. Our options are James McDonald, Hugh Bowman or Zac Purton. It won’t be Karis. The owner’s first priority is James, but I have to see whether he can ride him,” Shum said.

McDonald won two from two aboard Romantic Warrior – including the Group One Hong Kong Cup – while Teetan was sidelined with a thyroid condition and undoubtedly is one of the world’s premier jockeys, but it’s hard not to think Teetan can count himself a little unlucky.

He has three wins from six attempts aboard Romantic Warrior, including last year’s Hong Kong Derby and QE II Cup, and has only been beaten by Golden Sixty in his two rides aboard the five-year-old since returning to the saddle, falling a length short in last month’s Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) before Sunday’s narrow defeat.

The Gold Cup was a true staying test thanks to some quick early sections set by Money Catcher, and Teetan got Romantic Warrior going 600m from home in the knowledge he couldn’t outsprint Golden Sixty in the straight.

While Romantic Warrior was ultimately run down by Golden Sixty in the final 50m, it certainly looked as though Teetan gave him every chance and, not for the first time in his career, the Mauritian has every right to have a sour taste in his mouth after being taken off a big-name galloper.

Triple Crown instead of travel?

As has become the norm, trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai did little to inspire confidence he and owner Stanley Chan Ka-leung have any real ambition to travel with Golden Sixty after his Gold Cup win.

While confirming that if Golden Sixty does head overseas, it will be to June’s Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m) in Japan, Lui seemed equally – if not more – enthused about a potential crack at completing Hong Kong’s Triple Crown and pocketing the HK$10 million bonus.

Purton needs one win from next 13 to reach century in fewer rides than Moreira

With the first two legs – the Stewards’ Cup and the Gold Cup – in the bag, Golden Sixty could join the only galloper to complete the clean sweep, 1994 Triple Crown hero River Verdon, with victory in May’s Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m).

After Sunday’s race, there was a lot of talk about how relaxed Golden Sixty now is. Whether connections actually believe he can stay 12 furlongs, the proximity of May 28’s Champions & Chater Cup to the Yasuda Kinen on June 4 could serve as the perfect way to make the travel talk go away once again.

Whatever happens from here, Golden Sixty has put himself in the box seat to secure a third straight Horse of the Year gong – a feat never before achieved in Hong Kong.

Derby picture takes shape

He’d just completed one of his biggest days on a racetrack, but even star jockey Vincent Ho Chak-yiu had Beauty Eternal on his mind after Super Sunny Sing’s Classic Cup victory.

There was a general consensus the Hong Kong Derby winner went around at Sha Tin on Sunday, but the John Size-trained Beauty Eternal was the name on everyone’s lips rather than any galloper coming out of the second leg of the four-year-old series.

“I think Mr Size’s horse will be very hard to beat, but let’s see,” Ho said after adding the Classic Cup to Golden Sixty’s Gold Cup win little more than an hour earlier.

Beauty Eternal lived up to his $1.15 starting price with the easiest of victories in a Class Two mile to pose two questions – what could he have produced in the first two legs of the Classic Series if not for a couple of setbacks, and just who can beat him in the city’s most prestigious race on March 19?