The Golden Scenery bags Celebration Cup

Trainer Tony Cruz claimed the HK$4.2 million (S$696,000) Group 3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1,400m) for the third time in four seasons, when The Golden Scenery produced a career-best performance under jockey Brenton Avdulla at Sha Tin on Sept 22 to win the first Group race of the 2024-25 Hong Kong season.

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Settling near the tail of the field before the seven runners bunched approaching the home turn, The Golden Scenery stayed on the rail deep into the straight before cutting between Taj Dragon and last season's winner Healthy Happy to continue Cruz and Avdulla's partnership.

A two-time winner in Australia when racing as Dominant King, the Deep Field seven-year-old had twice been placed at Group 3 level in Hong Kong - running third in the Celebration Cup last year - and revelled in the rain-affected conditions to win by half-a-length in 1min 22.74sec to post his sixth Hong Kong victory.

"The Golden Scenery has always been a very honest horse and he's always good at the start of the season and wins a race. I planned this race for a while and today the give in the ground helped," Cruz said.