Watching the replays consecutively, the change comes sharply into focus. On Jan. 23, in the Stewards Cup, the great Hong Kong gelding Golden Sixty runs down the Sha Tin Racecourse backstretch his mouth agape. He is pulling hard at the bit, overeager to get on with his task. His rider, Vincent Ho, is pulling against him, asking Golden Sixty to wait. Golden Sixty relents, dropping far behind the early leaders – too far. A mighty finish, a final 400 meters in 21.95 seconds, is good enough only for second. Golden Sixty’s 16-race winning streak that had caught the racing world’s attention is over. Fast forward to April 3, the Chairman’s Trophy Stakes. Golden Sixty, as he did in the Stewards Cup, breaks alertly. A dozen strides into the race and Ho’s hands are on his mount’s neck, moving along with Golden Sixty’s force, not working against it. The gelding’s mouth is clamped against the bit. Golden Sixty and Ho push forward, getting right into the action, and fall into perfect trip, stalking three leaders, jumping on them at the head of the stretch. Golden Sixty’s kick is far too potent; the race is over with a furlong to run. :: Hong Kong: Free PPs, picks, analysis, replays, and live streaming Golden Sixty can show tactical speed and still kick home furiously, and if he gets a trip anything like his run in the Chairman’s Trophy, he’ll win the Group 1, $2.55 million Champions Mile on Sunday at Sha Tin. There are no international shippers on a card that usually attracts a host of Japanese runners. Golden Sixty at his best would take care of any foreign challengers, and in a 1,600-meter race run at level weights, Golden Sixty simply will prove too much horse for seven rivals Sunday. The Champions Mile goes as the eighth of 11 races Sunday on a triple Group 1 card that starts at 12:25 a.m. Eastern. The stakes action begins with the Group 1, $2.55 Chairman’s Sprint Prize, race 6, and wraps up with the Group 1, $3.19 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup, race 9. You can catch all the action at DRFBets.com. Waikuku is the gelding that snapped Golden Sixty’s streak, and he’s back in the Champions Mile, but the horse most frequently mentioned as Golden Sixty’s chief challenger is California Spangle. California Spangle comes directly from hitting all the stops in Hong Kong’s 4-year-old classic series. He was second in the Classic Mile, won the Classic Cup over 1,800 meters; and was a gallant second going 2,000 meters in the Hong Kong Derby. California Spangle probably is a miler at heart, but his Hong Kong rating stands at 101, a massive 30 points lower than Golden Sixty’s. All runners carry 126 pounds, and California Spangle, who likes to lead, has a serious pace rival in Happy Healthy. It’s a similar situation in the 2,000-meter QE II Cup, where 4-year-old Romantic Warrior, who won the Classic Mile and the Hong Kong Derby, faces 5-year-old Russian Emperor. Again, both horses carry 126 pounds, and at this stage of their careers, this probably isn’t a fair fight. Romantic Warrior is blossoming into an excellent, versatile horse, and his fourth-place finish in the Classic Cup had everything to do with an impossible trip. But Russian Emperor, a 5-year-old Irish-bred by Galileo, has grown into Hong Kong’s best 2,000-meter horse. In the Hong Kong Cup four months ago, he finished third in a race won by star Japanese mare Loves Only You, and Russian Emperor in February won the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup, where Golden Sixty finished third by more than four lengths. A yielding turf course aided Russian Emperor, but the gelding can handle firmer footing, too. The Chairman’s Sprint Prize features a familiar cast in a division lacking standout performers. Wellington comes closest to filling that role and seeks his third straight win and a repeat victory in the Sprint Prize, which he won by 1 1/2 lengths last year.