Voyage Bubble sweeps home to take Triple Crown
HONG KONG - Voyage Bubble rewrote Hong Kong's racing history with a stunning triumph in the HK$13 million (S$2.13 million) Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin on May 25, making light of stamina concerns with a record-equalling performance to draw the highest praise from James McDonald and Ricky Yiu.
Given a perfect ride by McDonald, Voyage Bubble ($9) streaked to a 3½-length win over Rubylot (Hugh Bowman) and Cap Ferrat (Craig Williams) in 2min 26.67sec.
The Yiu-trained six-year-old became only the second horse in Hong Kong's racing history, after River Verdon in 1993/94, to complete the Triple Crown by winning the Group 1 Stewards' Cup (1,600m), the Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m) and the Champions & Chater Cup in the same season.
Demolishing nine rivals, Voyage Bubble claimed a fifth Group 1 win as the 2023 BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) winner secured a HK$10 million Triple Crown bonus and the winner's purse of HK$7.28 million, to take his career earnings to HK$107.4 million for the Sunshine And Moonlight Syndicate.
McDonald, the reigning Longines World's Best Jockey, revealed he thought the race - Hong Kong's 12th and final Group 1 of the season - was in his keeping at the 600m after Zac Purton's mid-race move on Ensued to join Moments in Time (Harry Bentley) and Dubai Honour (Tom Marquand) at the head of the field.
With Ensued's acceleration stringing out the 10-horse field, the unflustered McDonald bided his time and gradually upped the tempo to hit the front at the 270m, before sweeping into history.
"I couldn't have dreamed of it panning out as well as that - that's once in a blue moon," he said.
"The stars aligned and, with that sort of run, he was going to be hard to beat even without such a good run... it all worked out.
"From the 600m, he tacked up beautifully, the pace increased, everything was smooth, nothing was cluttered up.
"I had a really smooth run the whole way. He's a brilliant horse. He just keeps raising the bar and keeps on surprising every time I ride him."
McDonald has been aboard Voyage Bubble in all five of the Deep Field gelding's Group 1 wins and is still perplexed that the pair were beaten by outsider Red Lion in the Group 1 Champions Mile (1,600m) at Sha Tin on April 27.
"I still can't believe he got beat last time, but he was just a different horse today. He was in the zone. He was 'prepped' up just beautifully by Yiu's stable," said the Kiwi rider.
"So lucky to be riding him. He does everything you ask of him and he's so willing. He was on song today and he's just such a star.
"He switches off and allows himself to get the distance so well and I just want to pay credit to the Yiu stable - they've done a remarkable job with this horse.
"It's a great training effort - a mile to 2,400m. They've got a champion racehorse on their hands and he (Voyage Bubble) deserves all the accolades he gets. I'm very proud of him."
Yiu, who has trained a string of champion sprinters including Sacred Kingdom, Fairy King Prawn and Amber Sky, was jubilant after saddling his first winner at 2,400m.
"My dreams came true. Since I won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, I started dreaming. Now, my dreams have come true," said Yiu.
"The closer I looked at the race today, the more I thought he would have a winning chance - his preparation was so good.
"He's pure athletic. If you look at him, you can tell he's a high-class racehorse. He's performed up from a sprint to the maximum distance in Hong Kong. He's a genius."
Voyage Boss ($69), who is also raced by members of the Sunshine And Moonlight Syndicate, triumphed on the undercard for Frankie Lor and Derek Leung, landing the Class 4 Makarpura Star Handicap (1,200m).
Francis Lui's Packing Hermod ($7) slotted his sixth win in the Class 2 River Verdon Handicap (1,400m) under Purton.
"He's more mature now and had a good draw today - the small field helped too," said Lui, who will set the four-year-old for the Group 3 Premier Cup Handicap (1,400m) at Sha Tin on June 22.
Lui sealed a double after Luke Ferraris piloted Do Your Part ($21) to victory in the Class 4 Russian Emperor Handicap (1,400m).
Mister Dapper ($13) clinched the Class 4 Helene Super Star Handicap (1,600m) for David Eustace and Brenton Avdulla, who later partnered John Size's 1,600th Hong Kong winner Stellar Express ($56) to score in the Class 3 Indigenous Handicap (1,000m).
Purton also won on Shamus Storm ($11) in the Class 4 Exultant Handicap (1,400m) for trainer David Hayes.
He then capped his day with a treble aboard Top Dragon ($31) in the Class 3 Oriental Express Handicap (1,400m) for Chris So.
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