CALIFORNIA Spangle, the only horse to defeat Hong Kong star Golden Sixty in the past two years, gained a deserved success in the $1.5 million Group 1 Al Quoz over the six-furlong turf track.

A first Hong Kong winner at the meeting in 10 years, California Spangle won in track record time, defeating Godolphin’s three-year-old filly Star Of Mystery by three quarters of a length. Clive Cox’s Diligent Harry took third.

Trained by Tony Cruz and ridden by Brenton Avdulla, California Spangle was bred in Ireland by Michael Enright. The six-year-old Starspangledbanner gelding has been remarkably consistent at the top level in Hong Kong, even defeating Romantic Warrior over a mile on one occasion.

Cruz said: “I came with a lot of confidence that we would win this race today. If you look back through his history, California Spangle on his debut, he ran a record time in Hong Kong and he ran a record time at six furlongs. I believe when he hits the front, nobody can catch him.”

“I think we’ll go into sprint races back in Hong Kong, that’s the end of April [the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize]. We’ll take on Lucky Sweynesse. He’s always been a sprinter-miler and I believe he’s more a sprinter than a miler.

Asked about Royal Ascot, he said: “It’s a possibility. I’ve got to try to work it out.”

The runner-up Star Of Mystery ran a huge race for a three-year-old filly and trainer Charlie Appleby has the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in mind as her end-of-season target.