Latest news with #LonginesWorld
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Kiwi jockey James McDonald heads to Royal Ascot with US star
James McDonald, riding Nature Strip, wins the King's Stand Stakes at Ascot Racecourse in 2022. Photo / Supplied The world's best jockey is off to the world's best race meeting after all. And Kiwi riding sensation James McDonald has a new superstar to lure him all the way to England for Royal Ascot in a fortnight. McDonald was crowned Longines World's Best Jockey for 2024 in Hong Kong
Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Romantic Warrior injury detailed after his welcome home ceremony was scrapped
The champion is joint second with fellow Hong Kong horse Ka Ying Rising in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. However Romantic Warrior will not be able to race at the moment due to injury Superstar Romantic Warrior has been found to have an injury after a welcome home ceremony for the horse was scrapped. The event at Sha Tin on Sunday, when fans were set to pay tribute to his achievements, was called off after potential changes in one of the horse's joints were detected. The Hong Kong Jockey Club's veterinary records have now been updated to show the earner of £21million of prize money has a left fore fetlock injury. The diagnosis comes more than month after Romantic Warrior was pipped to the post by Soul Rush in the Dubai Turf at Meydan. Danny Shum's trainee was in front until virtually the last stride but he came up agonisingly short in a bid for yet another Group One. 'He's had a long campaign. He ran his heart out,' jockey James McDonald said afterwards. Romantic Warrior was running for the first time since he suffered another narrow defeat to Forever Young in the Saudi Cup. But despite the star horse's recent losses, he still has legions of fans who were hoping to see their champion, jockey James McDonald and connections in Sha Tin's parade ring at the weekend. But an update from the HKJC said: "The Club's Veterinary Regulation, Welfare and Biosecurity Policy Department have provided advice on Romantic Warrior that the Club wishes to share with his many fans. 'Romantic Warrior is currently spelling following his return from his races in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. The horse has returned to Hong Kong presenting extremely well and has not exhibited any signs of lameness or any other clinical issues. 'Nevertheless, consistent with the Club's world-class procedures for the care of our racehorses, a detailed physical examination has been carried out, including imaging using our veterinary hospital's state-of-the-art equipment. 'This proactive screening has enabled a very early detection of some potential changes in one of the horse's joints. As a consequence of this systematic approach to ensuring horse welfare a management plan has been developed that will ensure that Romantic Warrior has an extremely good prognosis of such changes being fully addressed. 'Whilst Romantic Warrior would not face any risk from the planned ceremony to welcome his return to Hong Kong the Club nevertheless believes that the ceremony is not a priority and so it will not be held." Since 2021, Romantic Warrior has won 18 races, including ten at the highest level on a variety of surfaces and tracks. His record includes three editions of the Hong Kong and FWD QEII Cups, the 2024 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and top flight successes in Australia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. 'Romantic Warrior just a very good racehorse and he adapts to any circumstances during a race, to any pace and has a good turn of foot," McDonald said after Romantic Warrior's most recent strike in the Jebel Hatta at Meydan in January. "He's a very strong-minded horse, He could be a sprinter, that's how fast he is."
New Paper
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Paper
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. HKJC
South China Morning Post
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
McDonald to ride Bubble on big weekend, while Warrior is in good shape
Kiwi rider will arrive during the meeting to ride star miler in next month's Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) by Jack DawlingJay Rooney on Sunday, January 26, 2025 8:42 PM James McDonald will partner Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble in the space of 48 hourse. Photo: Kenneth Chan Ricky Yiu Poon-fai has confirmed superstar Kiwi James McDonald will partner Voyage Bubble in next month's Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) despite the logistical challenges involved in getting the rider to Sha Tin on February 23. McDonald will chase another success in the Middle East with Romantic Warrior in the Group One Saudi Cup (1,800m) late on February 22 before flying back to Hong Kong to hop aboard Voyage Bubble in the Gold Cup the following afternoon. While the five-hour time difference means McDonald will be cutting it fine to get to Sha Tin for the HK$13 million Group One, Yiu said the Kiwi will arrive during the meeting and partner his stable star in the second leg of the Triple Crown. 'He will arrive fairly late on for the meeting but he will be here for that particular race,' Yiu said. 'Maybe he'll be at Sha Tin by race two or three, let's hope it all goes to plan.' Yiu did not confirm whether the 2024 Longines World's Best Jockey will take the Cathay Pacific flight which departs Riyadh at 12.45am on the Sunday morning and lands in Hong Kong at 1.40pm, or find other means of travel to return in time such as a private plane. — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) January 19, 2025 The Warrior marches on Danny Shum Chap-shing said Romantic Warrior is in tip-top shape following his emphatic Group One Jebel Hatta (1,800m) success under McDonald as the trainer looks ahead to next month's audacious Saudi Cup bid. Romantic Warrior claimed his 10th Group One win in fine style in the early hours of Saturday morning Hong Kong time, with the seven-year-old continuing his globe-trotting domination on the Meydan turf in Dubai. Shum, who was in good spirits at Sha Tin on Sunday as he watched Gorgeous Win collect a Class Two win for his stable, confirmed his star galloper was in good condition following the four-and-a-half-length success. 'He's pulled up well and everything is fine,' Shum said. 'He dropped a bit of weight of course – about 18 pounds – but that is expected and this morning he is back to normal.' While Shum admitted he wasn't able to celebrate and reflect on Romantic Warrior's maiden Dubai success, the trainer hopes there will be another chance to pop the champagne. 'I celebrated by going to the airport after the race for my flight at 3.30am and then the plane was delayed until 4.15am,' Shum said with a laugh. 'Then it was just back to work as normal at the stable and preparing for today's race meeting. 'But hopefully there will be more celebrations to come soon, we will see.' Wong strikes with career-best success Britney Wong Po-ni celebrated the biggest success of her fledgling Hong Kong career at Sha Tin on Sunday, booting Fast Responder to a comfortable Class Three win. Wong racked up her eighth victory this term when she capitalised on Fast Responder's outside draw in gate 13 down the 1,000m straight in the Class Three Wheelchair Fencing Handicap. The 25-year-old rider kept Douglas Whyte's sprinter on the outside rail and bided her time until pacesetter Cheval Valiant shifted out passing the 300m. 'I know it's only 1,000m and it looks like an easy race to ride, but Britney rode a very, very confident and good race,' said Whyte, who also helped deliver Wong her first Hong Kong victory with Cheval Valiant in September. 'She was patient, she got him to settle, she got him comfortable and she waited patiently for my other horse, Cheval Valiant, to roll off the rail and went straight through the gap.' Fast Responder broke through at start six in Hong Kong, with a solid last-start eighth behind Baby Crystal his best previous performance in the city. Pouchin bids adieu Alexis Pouchin will leave Hong Kong earlier than anticipated after failing to obtain any rides for Friday's Lunar New Year meeting at Sha Tin. While the Frenchman's contract is due to end after the bumper fixture, he will exit the Hong Kong riding ranks sooner than expected with two wins from 105 mounts. In his eight-week stint in the city, Pouchin saluted aboard the Yiu-trained Harry's Hero and Francis Lui Kin-wai's Baby Crystal. After steering Baby Crystal to a dominant two-and-three-quarter-length success down the Sha Tin straight on January 5, Pouchin went within a whisker of getting the sprinter home in front on Sunday. The 24-year-old dictated proceedings aboard Lui's charge in the Class Two Para Equestrian Handicap (1,200m) but was collared in the final strides by $1.5 favourite Gorgeous Win.
