Voyage Bubble proved he belonged among the stars of the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, claiming a heroic victory in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) on Sunday, 14 December. The seven-year-old, last season’s Triple Crown winner, fought off Soul Rush to secure his second HK$36 million Hong Kong Mile, confirming his status as one of Hong Kong racing’s elite.
Unlike in last month’s G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2000m), Romantic Warrior was not in the way this time, allowing Voyage Bubble to join the ranks of multiple Mile winners including Monopolize (1995 & 1996), Good Ba Ba (2007–2009), Beauty Generation (2017 & 2018), and Golden Sixty (2020, 2021 & 2023).
Jockey Zac Purton, replacing the horse’s regular rider James McDonald for the second consecutive time, praised Voyage Bubble’s courage. “I think he just showed what type of horse he is,” Purton said. “He’s not the horse who is going to give you a ‘wow’ performance, but he’s got such a big heart that he’s always up for the fight. He’s in the shadow of the big two, unfortunately, but in his own right, he’s a supremely good horse. A Triple Crown winner, he’s come back today off the canvas to win.”
Breaking wide from stall 12, Voyage Bubble settled just behind the trail-blazing Pray For Mir, with Docklands and Copartner Prance positioned prominently further inside. Last year’s runner-up Soul Rush, encouraged by Cristian Demuro, joined Pray For Mir and Voyage Bubble around the home turn. The visiting horse had previously defeated Romantic Warrior in the G1 Dubai Turf (1800m) in April.
In the final stages, it was the local star who prevailed, earning trainer Ricky Yiu a sixth Group 1 victory and delighting the Sunshine and Moonlight Syndicate. “The horse has great heart,” Yiu said. “A lot of credit goes to the jockey, Zac, he did it so well. Although he’s seven, I don’t really feel the age of him. After we got beaten last time we decided to go for the Mile.”
Red Lion, winner of the G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) in April, finished strongly under Hugh Bowman to claim third, while Docklands improved on last year’s 12th place to finish fourth under Tom Marquand. Yiu added, “It’s a really nice group of people. Every time the horse runs, they’re cheering.”
It was a day when Voyage Bubble added another deserved success to his remarkable career.
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