Runner-up to now-retired legend Golden Sixty in last year’s Hong Kong Mile (G1), Voyage Bubble duly proved to be his successor in Sunday’s renewal at Sha Tin. The 8-5 favorite carved out a perfect stalk-and-pounce trip with James McDonald.
Yet Golden Sixty’s form loomed over the result in an even deeper way. Runner-up Soul Rush and third-placer Beauty Joy had finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 2023 edition. Beauty Eternal, elevated to fourth on Sunday, was sixth to Golden Sixty a year ago.
Trained by Ricky Yiu for the Sunshine and Moonlight Syndicate, Voyage Bubble raced in the vanguard early on the inside but let Beauty Eternal adopt his usual pacesetting role. McDonald then steered Voyage Bubble into the more advantageous outside tracking spot, and the Deep Field gelding appeared poised to assert on cue. Voyage Bubble launched his bid in the stretch and drove to a 1 1/4-length victory in 1:33.34.
Japan’s Soul Rush rallied for second, a half-length to the good of fellow closer Beauty Joy, who rattled home from last in the 14-horse field. But others had a more checkered, or even luckless, passage trying to make up ground.
The fourth past the post, Chancheng Glory, was disqualified for shifting out, hampering Happy Together, and causing a chain reaction of interference. Beauty Eternal was promoted to fourth, and Happy Together awarded fifth, while Chancheng Glory was demoted to sixth.
Galaxy Patch ran into all sorts of traffic when deploying from the tail of the field. His late lunge for seventh, in a blanket finish for the minors, is therefore worthy of an upgrade. Next came Red Lion; Lazzat; Australian shipper Antino, who couldn’t recover from the Chancheng Glory incident, according to jockey Blake Shinn; Docklands; Jantar Mantar, who was already beaten when bounced around in the melee; and Ramadan.
Australian-bred Voyage Bubble has compiled a 22-8-6-3 line, reflecting victories in the 2023 Hong Kong Classic Mile and Hong Kong Derby as well as the Jan. 21 Stewards’ Cup (G1) and Nov. 17 Jockey Club Mile (G2).
“He’s a great horse in his own right,” said McDonald, who would complete a Hong Kong International Races double with the imperious Romantic Warrior in the Hong Kong Cup (G1).
“He felt excellent going to the gates today. He was really on the job. Credit to Ricky (Yiu) and his team – they’ve prepped him up beautifully. He just gives his all. He has a very big heart, and he’s very uncomplicated.”
Yiu in turn complimented the rider.
“Out of all of jockeys who have won on him, James knows him the best, and the draw (post 5) helped him,” the horseman said. “The way the race was run suited him. We have wonderful team and we work together very nicely.”
Stabling at the Conghua facility has also helped Voyage Bubble progress.
“Mentally he is a lot more mature,” Yiu noted. “He’s very smart and he’s developed. He’s gotten taller and a little bit bigger. He has enjoyed Conghua very much.”
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