Golden Sixty became the highest-earning racehorse in history at Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon, taking out the Group One FWD Champions Mile for a record third straight time.

By pocketing the HK$11.4 million Champions Mile first prize, Golden Sixty took his earnings to almost HK$148 million and sailed past the A$26.45 million [HK$137 million] wonder mare Winx banked during her incredible career.

Golden Sixty became the first horse to win the Champions Mile on three occasions, and by snaring the contest for a fourth consecutive year, his jockey Vincent Ho Chak-yiu became the most successful rider in the history of the race.

“I’m grateful for Golden Sixty, of course. It’s always my honour to be on him. I’m happy for the horse and happy for the crowds that come to support him. He’s just an amazing horse,” Ho said.

“He’s going as well as ever. There’s no sign of him dropping in performance. I told myself before this race to try and enjoy every moment with Golden Sixty because he’s seven now and we don’t know when he’s going to retire, but the best way is to enjoy every single step with him. I’m nothing without him, so all the credit goes to Golden Sixty.”

After initially settling a few lengths off a brisk speed set by California Spangle, Ho allowed Golden Sixty to improve his position from the 1,000m to sit much handier than usual just off the leader in a race run nearly a second inside standard through the first 800m.

After assuming the lead from California Spangle at the 300m, Golden Sixty finished strongly enough to hold off the closing Beauty Joy by a length and a half.

It was Golden Sixty’s ninth Group One win - a new Hong Kong record - 25th success overall and the first time the seven-year-old has snared the same elite-level contest three times.

“The only thing I can say is [I’m] happy. He’s such a good horse with a good fighting heart. He gives me confidence,” said trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai.

“Vincent had his own plan. I didn’t disturb him. Before the race, we didn’t talk about how to run because he knows this horse well and I don’t have to teach him.”

While Golden Sixty has bagged the first two legs of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown with wins in the Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) and the Gold Cup (2,000m), an attempt to complete the clean sweep in next month’s Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) seems unlikely, as does a touted trip to Japan for June’s Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m).

“I think it’s 50-50 because in Japan it’s anticlockwise, you also have to walk before the race for 45 minutes and maybe the weather at that time is quite hot,” Lui said.

“It’s a very hard decision, I think maybe I’ll discuss it with the owner and Vincent and decide what to do. I think another plan is international day next season,” Lui added of a horse he admits must be carefully managed as he gets closer to retirement.

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“Now we just keep a little bit longer in between races. Before we could keep racing – even some of the Group Three races – but now we just pick the Group One races.

“He’s good enough [to continue], but he’s getting old, so he just takes a little bit of time to recover.”