Hong Kong: Voyage Bubble completes Triple Crown sweep
Rewriting racing history with a stunning triumph Sunday in the Group 1, US$ 1,659,878 Champions & Chater Cup, 6-year-old gelding Voyage Bubble completed his sweep of the Hong Kong Triple Crown and made light of stamina concerns with a record-equaling performance to draw the highest praise from James McDonald and Ricky Yiu.
Given a perfect ride by McDonald, Voyage Bubble streaked to a 3 1/2-length victory over Rubylot and Cap Ferrat in 2:26.67 for the 2,400 meters, 15 yards short of 1 1/2 miles on Sha Tin’s good-rated turf. He became only the second horse in Hong Kong racing history after River Verdon in 1993-94 to complete the Triple Crown by winning the one-mile Stewards’ Cup (G1), 1 1/4-mile Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) and Champions & Chater Cup in the same season.
Demolishing nine rivals ages 3 and up, Voyage Bubble claimed a fifth Group 1. The 2023 Hong Kong Derby winner secured a US$1,276,829 Triple Crown bonus plus the winners’ purse of US$929,531 to take his career earnings to US$13,713,147 for the Sunshine and Moonlight Syndicate.
McDonald, currently the no. 1 jockey in world rankings, revealed he thought Hong Kong’s 12th and final Group 1 race of the season was in his keeping at the three-furlong pole after Zac Purton’s mid-race move on Ensued to join Moments in Time and eventual fourth-place finisher Dubai Honour at the head of the field.
With Ensued’s acceleration stringing out the 10-horse field, unflustered McDonald simply bided his time before gradually upping the tempo and hitting the front with 300 yards left before sweeping into history.
“I couldn’t have dreamed of it panning out as well as that. That’s once in a blue moon,” McDonald said. “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.
“From the (three-eighths pole), he tacked up beautifully, the pace increased, everything was smooth, nothing was cluttered up. I just had a really smooth run the whole way. He’s a brilliant horse. He just keeps raising the bar, and he 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 still is perplexed that the pair was beaten by 89-1 outsider Red Lion in the Champions Mile (G1) at Sha Tin last month.
“I still can’t believe he got beat last time to be fair, but he was just a different horse today. He was in the zone. He was prepped up just beautifully by the Yiu stable,” McDonald said. “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 he’s just such a star.
“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 2,400 meters. They’re absolutely incredible. They’ve got a champion racehorse on their hands, and (Voyage Bubble) deserves all the accolades he gets. It’s awesome. 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 1 1/2 miles.
“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,” Yiu said. “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. 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.
“When we first ran him over (six and seven furlongs), it was like a game for him. The whole team is thrilled.”
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