Latest news with #VoyageBubble
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Voyage Bubble stakes Horse of the Year claim with HK$61 million season
While Voyage Bubble's brilliant surge to a fifth Group One success and a Triple Crown clean sweep rightly demanded much of the attention at Sha Tin on Sunday, the champion galloper also quietly ticked another box on the weekend by becoming just the fourth Hong Kong-trained horse to amass HK$100 million in prize money. More than HK$61 million of his HK$107,472,475 career earnings have come in a superb 2024-25 campaign that has featured four elite-level victories and a HK$10 million Triple Crown bonus for his troubles. It'll go down as one of the better campaigns ever seen from a Hong Kong galloper but amazingly, may not be enough to secure him Horse of the Year honours at the end of the term. While Romantic Warrior has been immense again this season, it does look a race in two between Ka Ying Rising and Voyage Bubble. UNBELIEVABLE! 🤯 31 years since River Verdon won the #TripleCrown for the first time, Hong Kong has a second winner of the series in Voyage Bubble, who makes light work of his Champions & Chater Cup rivals... 🏆🏆🏆@WorldPool | @mcacajamez | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) May 25, 2025 Many still have Ka Ying Rising as the front runner after an undefeated eight-run campaign lined with four Group One successes and multiple track-record-breaking efforts. Those in Voyage Bubble's corner can make a compelling case for Ricky Yiu Poon-fai's galloper, however. He has bagged more prize money than Ka Ying Rising this season, has been far more versatile than the sprinter by winning at the top level over 1,600m, 2000m and 2,400m and he just became Hong Kong's second ever Triple Crown winner, and first in 31 years. Amid the euphoria that followed Voyage Bubble's three-and-a-half-length Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) demolition job on Sunday, jockey James McDonald briefly cast his thoughts back to Voyage Bubble's agonising defeat at the hands of Red Lion in last month's Group One Champions Mile. HK Racing News Get updates direct to your inbox Sign up Best Bets Racing News By registering you agree to our T&Cs & Privacy Policy Error: Please enter a valid email. The email address is already in use. Please login to subscribe. Error, please try again later. THANK YOU You are one the list. 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 — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025 After prevailing by a short head, $90 shot Red Lion had to survive a protest from the connections of $1.6 favourite Voyage Bubble before securing the prize. 'I still can't believe he got beat last time, to be fair,' said McDonald on Sunday. If that short-head margin does cost Voyage Bubble Horse of the Year honours, there is little doubt he can count himself just about as unlucky as any galloper who has missed out on the gong. McDonald the main man While Voyage Bubble couldn't quite snare five Group One wins this campaign, McDonald certainly could as he continued his extraordinary fly-in, fly-out feature-race spree in Hong Kong. Thanks to Romantic Warrior's Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) success and Voyage Bubble's four top-line wins, McDonald led the way in 2024-25 by winning five of the 12 elite-level contests of the campaign. Zac Purton was the other jockey to bag multiple Group One wins, saluting three times aboard Ka Ying Rising, while the Australia-based McDonald has now plundered 12 Group One successes in Hong Kong in the past two and a half years. Group Threes look red hot While the Group Ones are behind us for another season, there are still four Group features to come in 2024-25, starting with this Saturday's Group Three Sha Tin Vase (1,200m) and Group Three Lion Rock Trophy (1,600m). Won last season by Ka Ying Rising, this year's Sha Tin Vase is headlined by four-time Group One winner Lucky Sweynesse and the ever-consistent Helios Express. Ka Ying Rising has Group 1 targets next season! 😏 The gifted 3YO secures the G3 Sha Tin Vase in style with @KarisTeetan for David Hayes... #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) June 2, 2024 Rounding out the 11 entries are Lucky With You, Victor The Winner, Patch Of Theta, Magic Control, Invincible Sage, Mugen, Copartner Prance, Beauty Waves and Lady's Choice. The Lion Rock Trophy has also attracted 11 entries and a string of Group One performers, with Red Lion and Beauty Eternal joined by Chancheng Glory, Beauty Joy, Happy Together, Sunlight Power, Divano, Encountered, Johannes Brahms, Ka Ying Generation and Pray For Mir.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Jockey James McDonald targets more Group 1 glory aboard Joliestar in 2025 Kingsford Smith Cup following Sha Tin success with Voyage Bubble
Champion jockey James McDonald can enhance his career-best Group 1 season when he partners brilliant mare Joliestar in the $1 million Kingsford Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Joliestar, trained by Chris Waller, is the $3.50 favourite in early TAB Fixed Odds betting for the feature sprint. McDonald will on Saturday be riding for his 21st Group 1 win of the season and his 15th major in Australia. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The superstar jockey netted another Group 1 when he partnered Voyage Bubble to an historic win in the Champion and Chaters Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. 'I couldn't have dreamed of it panning out as well as that – that's once in a blue moon,' McDonald told Hong Kong media. 'From the 600m, he tracked up beautifully, the pace increased, everything was smooth, nothing was cluttered up. I just had a really smooth run the whole way. 'He just does everything you ask of him and he's so willing. He was on song today and he's just such a star.'' This angle of VOYAGE BUBBLE and J-Mac! ðŸ'¥ Salute to Hong Kong's second ever Triple Crown champions… ðŸ''ðŸ�† #WorldPool — World Pool (@WorldPool) May 25, 2025 Voyage Bubble became only the second horse in Hong Kong racing history after River Verdon in 1993-94 to complete the Triple Crown by winning the Stewards Cup (1600m), Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and Champion and Chaters Cup in the same season.
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
25-05-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
‘Genius' Voyage Bubble bags Triple Crown with remarkable Champions & Chater Cup success
Ricky Yiu Poon-fai's dreams came true at Sha Tin on Sunday as Voyage Bubble snared the Group One Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) and became just the second winner of Hong Kong's illustrious Triple Crown. It was a sparkling performance from the now five-time top-level scorer, who always travelled ominously well in midfield under James McDonald. The race began in earnest when Zac Purton made a back-straight move on Ensued, which saw him range up alongside Dubai Honour and long-time leader Moments In Time and force the pace forward. Off the turn, it was Dubai Honour and Ensued who went on, but the eye was always drawn to Voyage Bubble, who surged to the front doing cartwheels at the 300m pole and drew off to win by as far as he pleased ahead of Rubylot, who charged into second late on. UNBELIEVABLE! 🤯 31 years since River Verdon won the #TripleCrown for the first time, Hong Kong has a second winner of the series in Voyage Bubble, who makes light work of his Champions & Chater Cup rivals... 🏆🏆🏆@WorldPool | @mcacajamez | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) May 25, 2025 Trainer Yiu was on cloud nine after his superstar became only the second winner of the Triple Crown, with Voyage Bubble bagging the HK$10 million bonus 31 years after River Verdon's historic first. 'Dreams came true – since I won the first two legs of the Triple Crown I started dreaming. Now today, dreams have come true. It's amazing,' said Yiu about a horse who has long been close to his heart. 'I was so worried that I couldn't buy him. I didn't have enough money to buy him and couldn't afford him. I rang up Hong Kong to get a better budget as I didn't want to lose him – it was love at first sight. 'The closer I looked at the race today, the closer I thought he would have a winning chance – he's done so well and his preparation was so good. 'I didn't want to tie [James McDonald] up with any riding instructions – he could just press the button and go.' The memories of Voyage Bubble's $1.6 defeat in the Group One Champions Mile (1,600m) are long in the wing mirrors, with the extra distance looking crucial to him now. For Yiu, his future looks to be beyond the mile, which could see him clash with Romantic Warrior in a mouth-watering rematch. 'He's pure athletic, if you look at him you can tell he's a high-class racehorse,' said Yiu. 'He's performed from a sprint to the maximum distance in Hong Kong – he's a genius. 'When we first ran him over 1,200m and 1,400m it was like a game for him. This is a real task. The 2,000m or even more seems to be an easier task for him. He won by a big margin over those trips – with a mile it's slightly competitive for him.' It was not just Yiu who was left in dreamland, with jockey McDonald also feeling spellbound by his superstar partner. 'I'm so lucky to be riding him and he's just a brilliant racehorse. He just does everything you ask of him and he's so willing. He was on song today and I just felt very lucky to be riding him. He's just such a star,' said McDonald. 'I couldn't have dreamed of it panning out as well as that – that's once in a blue moon. The stars aligned and with that sort of run, he was always going to be hard to beat. He was going to be hard to beat even without such a good run, but it all worked out. 'He just 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're absolutely incredible. They've got a champion racehorse on their hands and he deserves all the accolades he gets. It's awesome. I'm very proud of him.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hong Kong Racing Insights: 2025 Champions & Chater Cup
Hong Kong's Group 1 racing season ends at Sha Tin on Sunday, May 25, with the G1 Champions & Chater Cup going approximately 1 1/2 miles on the turf. It will be part of the World Pool, like nearly all major international races, enabling customers from 25 participating jurisdictions to wager into large, stable betting pools. Win, Place, Quinella, Quinella Place, Exacta, Trifecta, Quartet, Trio, First 4, Double, Pick 3, Double Trio, Triple Trio and Six Up bet types will be available for the whole race card, check with your favorite tote operator for details. Click here to learn more about World Pool. The top international starter appears to be seven-year-old Dubai Honour from William Haggas' barn. He has been all over the world – four times to Hong Kong already - and won the G1 Tancred Stakes at this distance as recently as April 1 at Rosehill in Australia while carrying 130 pounds. The son of Pride of Dubai can handle any ground and will be ridden by Tom Marquand. His international rating is 118. Advertisement Last year's Champions & Chater Cup was won by the globetrotting Rebel's Romance, winner of the 2022 and 2024 G1 Breeders' Cup Turf, but it has been dominated by local horses before that. Defending the home team will be Voyage Bubble, four-time Group 1 stakes winner at Sha Tin and the highest rated runner in the field at 120. The issue for Voyage Bubble is he has never contested the 1 ½-mile distance since three of his Group 1 stakes wins came at a mile and his last came in the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup going approximately 1 1/4 miles. But, having won the G1 Stewards' Cup and the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup, this is Voyage Bubble's chance to sweep the Triple Crown and join River Verdon as the only horse to do so. And, there is a HK$10 million bonus if he wins all three races. Voyage Bubble winning the second leg of the Triple Crown Series, G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup on Feb. 23HKJC photo David Hayes is high on Rubylot's chances after winning the Hong Kong Classic Cup for 4-year-olds then a hard-charging fifth in the Hong Kong Derby. A troubled sixth, only beaten three lengths by two Japanese superstars in the G1 QE II Cup, has given Hayes optimism that he can handle the added distance. Unfortunately, he will not be getting weight from his higher-rated rivals. Rubylot winning the Hong Kong Classic Cup on March 2HKJC photo Five G Patch is only rated 113 at the moment and will also not get any breaks in the weight-for-age event. However, he was second in last year's renewal and third the year before so the distance seems to wake him up no matter how strong the competition is. He might not be a candidate for the win but at long odds, Five G Patch is worth using underneath in vertical wagers. Advertisement The added distance of 1 1/2 miles will conduct a tour of Sha Tin's expansive turf course. While it should be a test of stamina, it provides lower-rated horses the opportunity to take some chances since their rider already has confidence in their ability to see out the distance. Unlike most of the races in Hong Kong where the assigned weight is what brings the horses together, in the case of the Champions & Chater Cup, it is the added distance that does. Dubai Honour has been traveling all over the world. Voyage Bubble's is trying to sweep the Triple Crown at a distance he has never contested. Despite their class edge, they might be vulnerable to others that should make it really difficult and a fun race to watch and wager on.
