Voyage Bubble to target Triple Crown after shock defeat: ‘we're aiming to run him'
Voyage Bubble (right) and Red Lion fight out the finish of Sunday's Group One Champions Mile. Photo: Kenneth Chan
Voyage Bubble is 'likely' to stake his claim for Hong Kong Horse of the Year honours by attempting to become only the second galloper to sweep the Triple Crown in next month's Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m).
An agonising second behind $90 chance Red Lion in Sunday's Group One Champions Mile, Voyage Bubble will look to join River Verdon as a Triple Crown winner after earlier victories in the Group One Stewards' Cup (1,600m) and Group One Gold Cup (2,000m).
'It was a real shame but he still ran well,' said trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai of Voyage Bubble's short-head defeat. 'He will most likely head to the 2,400m – we're aiming to run him.'
Ka Ying Rising surely heads the Horse of the Year running after four Group One victories this season and Romantic Warrior must also be in the conversation after elite-level victories at home and abroad.
RED LION ROARS! 🦁
It's an 89/1 shocker in the FWD Champions Mile at Sha Tin for @HugeBowman and John Size as Red Lion lands his first Group 1 over Voyage Bubble... #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/BoYbwGqmmt — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025
But a Champions & Chater Cup success would put the perennially underrated Voyage Bubble right in the frame, with victory drawing him level with Ka Ying Rising on four Group One triumphs in 2024-25.
And Yiu may have another genuine Group One contender on his hands after Sunlight Power flashed home for third in the Champions Mile in his first appearance at the top level.
'Sunlight Power was a bit of surprise but he keeps performing every time,' said Yiu, confirming the five-year-old would next be seen in the Group Three Lion Rock Trophy (1,600m) on May 31.
Catch the Express
It worked for Cape Of Good Hope and connections of Helios Express must seriously be considering their options abroad for a horse who has placed behind Ka Ying Rising seven times this season.
After a prolonged period of playing second fiddle to the great Silent Witness, Cape Of Good Hope was sent on the road, bagging Group One victories in Australia and the United Kingdom from 12 races overseas.
Hugh Bowman labelled Helios Express' effort in Sunday's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) 'his best run of the preparation' but he was still two and a half lengths adrift of Ka Ying Rising.
David Hayes declared second placegetter Satono Reve 'probably the second-best sprinter in the world at the moment' and Helios Express was only a quarter of a length off the Japanese galloper.
'Helios, what a great horse he's been this year,' said Hayes. 'He just keeps putting his run up. I think he would be a multiple Group One winner if he was back home in Australia.'
HE DOES IT AGAIN! 🚀
Ka Ying Rising makes it 12 straight wins, four Group 1s and a HK$5 million Speed Series bonus with victory in the 2025 Chairman's Sprint Prize... @zpurton #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/IvPSPH9pcn — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025
While the HK$16.3 million Helios Express has bagged for connections this season is certainly not to be sneezed at, he's too good to finish his career without a Group One success on his CV.
The challenge now is finding a race that Ka Ying Rising, and perhaps Satono Reve, aren't in.
The Group One Sprinters Stakes (1,200m) in Japan in September is one of the more obvious options, but the chances of Satono Reve being there would seem high, while the Group One Manikato Stakes (1,200m) in Melbourne around the same time could be a nice fit with Ka Ying Rising expected to be first up in October's The Everest.
Or perhaps connections wait and target the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) in Dubai next March – a race in which Helios Express' trainer, John Size, has had runners in the past three years.
Hayes pointed out on more than one occasion on Sunday that Ka Ying Rising is only a four-year-old and is just getting started.
Hanging around in Hong Kong and hoping for the best seems a fruitless exercise for Helios Express.
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