Hong Kong superstar Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) tonight became just the second horse in history to win the Hong Kong Triple Crown when scoring a stunning victory in the G1 Champions and Chater Cup at Sha Tin.
The Classic Yearling Sale champion has been one of the most consistent top-level horses in Hong Kong for many seasons - from his past seven starts alone he has won five times and finished second at the other two, while he is now an 11-time winner from 26 starts, as well as 10 minor placings.
The Ricky Yiu-trained Voyage Bubble began his quest for Triple Crown Glory when winning the G1 Stewards' Cup over 1600m at Sha Tin in January.
He backed that up with victory in the second leg - the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup over 2000m in February - before stepping up to the 2400m journey for the first time in his career to score a spectacular win in tonight's third and final leg, the G1 Champions and Chater Cup.
“He’s just a brilliant racehorse who does everything you ask of him, he’s so willing,” an elated James McDonald said post-race.
“I feel very lucky to be riding him, he’s just such a star.
“He just switches off and allows himself to get the distance so well.
“I want to pay credit to the stable, they’ve done a remarkable job with this horse, great training effort – a mile to 2400m. They’re absolutely incredible.
“They’ve got a champion racehorse on their hands and he deserves all the accolades he gets.”
Voyage Bubble led home an Inglis graduate trifecta in tonight’s victory, with Rubylot and Cap Ferrat in the placings.He becomes the first in more than 30 years to win the Hong Kong Triple Crown, following the success of River Verdon in 1994.
“Since I won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, I started dreaming and now today the dream has come true. It’s really amazing.
“Dreams come true,” Ricky Yiu said after Voyage Bubble’s dominant performance.
“You seldom see a horse perform from a sprint, 1200m, up to the maximum distance of a Hong Kong 2400m so he’s really a genius.
“The whole team are thrilled.”
Now a winner of $HKD 97,472,475 ($AUD 19,231,046), Voyage Bubble is a $380,000 Classic Sale purchase for his trainer Ricky Yiu, from the draft of his breeder Torryburn Stud.
Voyage Bubble is one of 108 individual G1-winning graduates since 2018.
