Champion Honours To Voyage Bubble At Hong Kong Awards

Dane Squance - Sunday July 13

Held on Friday night in the Grand Ballroom of the Rosewood Hotel in Hong Kong, Torryburn Stud’s home bred Champion Voyage Bubble secured two awards at the prestigious Hong Kong Horse of the Year Awards for the 2024/25 racing season.

In a history-making season which saw the Ricky Yiu-trained, Inglis Classic yearling sale topper win the HK$13m Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at his final start of the season, adding to his previous victories in the HK$13m Group 1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) and the HK$13m Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m), connections awarded a HK$10m bonus for Voyage Bubble becoming only the second horse to win the famed Hong Kong Triple Crown.

Dynamic Duo - James McDonald & Voyage Bubble Return After Another Group 1 Win - Image HJKC

In a season that netted five wins and two placed efforts from seven starts with earnings of HK$ 61,159,500 (~A$11.8m), Voyage Bubble’s first Group 1 win of the season was the HK$36m Hong Kong Mile (1600m) at the international meeting in December, a race that has since proven an outstanding international form reference with six of the beaten runners proving successful at the elite level in Australia, Japan, Dubai as well as Royal Ascot since the race.

Too classy in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) when winning by two lengths, Voyage Bubble stepped up to the 2000m of the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup and once again was too good for his rivals, producing an almost four length victory.

Dropping back to the mile at his next start a little over two months later in the Group 1 Champions Mile, Voyage Bubble went down my the narrowest of margins before jumping to the 2400m of the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup where he produced a scintillating effort under regular jockey James McDonald to score by three and a half lengths, and as a result, capture the Triple Crown.

With three wins and two second placed efforts over 1600m during the season, the 6yo son of Deep Field was ultimately award the Champion Mile title, and for his efforts over 2000m and 2400m, he also secured the Champion Stayer title for the 2024/25 racing season.

Champion Miler Voyage Bubble - Image HKJC

Consigned via Torryburn Stud’s draft at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, trainer Ricky Yiu fell in love with the son of Deep Field, going to a sales-topping $380,000 to secure him.

“It was love at first sight with him,” Yiu said. “I could tell he was a pure athlete the moment I saw him and he’s just a high-class racehorse. Not many horses can do what he’s done, you seldom see a horse manage to win at 1200m and 2400m in Hong Kong,” stated Yiu after Voyage Bubble’s final win of the season.

Having previously enjoyed success in Hong Kong with Champion Sprinter Hot King Prawn (Denman), another of their Inglis Classic yearling sale graduates, Torryburn Stud’s extensive list of stakes winning graduates is testament to their mantra of #RaisedWithHeart, coupled with the pride and passion displayed by the Cornish family and all the staff who work at the farm.

Champion Stayer Voyage Bubble - Image HKJC

“We at the farm are delighted to see our home bred Voyage Bubble being crowned Champion Miler and Champion Stayer at the recent Hong Kong awards,” enthused Mel Copelin said

Advertisement

“He epitomizes everything that we strive to do right from the ground up.”

“To have our horses performing at top level internationally is exactly why we do what we do. Obviously, we were hoping to crack the Horse of the Year award but we lined up with a sensational horse in Ka Ying Rising. To have Voyage Bubble in the conversation was incredible in itself.”

“To win the HK Triple Crown was unbelievable and to recognised with another two awards has really topped off a great season for the farm.”

"We'd like to congratulate trainer Ricky Yiu, jockey James McDonald and the Sunshine and Moonlight Syndicate on an oustanding season."

Voyage Bubble is out of the four-time winning Rahy mare Raheights, also the dam of Group 3 winner Diddums, who herself produced this season’s Listed Woodlands Stakes winner Stardom (Zoustar) in the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable with the rising 3yo filly now back at Tulloch Lodge after enjoying a spell at the farm with the team extremely happy with her progress leading into the spring carnival.

Raheights had effectively been retired and was enjoying her paddock life as a nanny to some of the younger stock at the farm before a change of plans saw her covered by Torryburn Stud’s very own multiple Group 1-winning yearling graduate and now Coolmore based stallion Home Affairs, producing a much-loved filly.

Voyage Bubble's Home Affairs Half-Sister - Image Torryburn Stud

Now officially retired once again to live out her days at the farm, her legacy will surely live on with Torryburn still owning members of the family.

“I’m pleased to report we have retained his two half-sisters to Voyage Bubble in Diddums and the Home Affairs x Raheights filly as well as two daughters of Diddums in Stardom and Cross Your Heart,” Copelin said.

Advertisment
More Reading...
New Stakes-Winner for Zoustar
The $150,000 Listed Hannan’s Handicap (1400m) provided reigning champion sire Zoustar with a new stakes-winner when seven year-old gelding Multinational led for home and could not be caught.
Kiwi Sires a Recipe for NZB Ready to Run Sale Success
Much of the NZB Ready to Run Sale’s extraordinary success has been underpinned by the stallions that have stood in New Zealand in recent decades.
2YO Stakes Racing – Sale Mail
Three stakes races for new season juveniles add plenty of interest to a stellar day of racing this Saturday in Sydney and Melbourne, so let’s take a look at the Sale Mail for these races.
Four Winners for Dennis
Local trainer Robert Dennis won half of the eight-race card at Ascot Park on Friday, culminating with a special win by Sir Sterling in the Vale Tony Dennis (1400m).
Mogumber Park hoists wet sail with Marine One
This time last year, the first foals by Mogumber Park stallion Marine One were widely regarded as some of the best types on the ground in Western Australia.
Breeding To Win – 2025 G1 Darley Flight Stakes
The prestigious Darley Princess Series reaches its crescendo this week with the 77th running of the $750,000 G1 ATC Flight Stakes (1600m) over Royal Randwick's famous mile.
Recent success highlights Inglis Digital October (Early) Sale
A range of exciting racing and breeding prospects – as well as a number of in-form racehorses and shares in Stakes winners – headline the Inglis Digital October (Early) Online Sale.
Captivant Colt Shines at Warwick Farm Trials
Captivant’s burgeoning reputation for producing precocious 2YOs took another leap forward at today’s Warwick Farm trials, with Courthezon powering to victory in Heat 10.
Who Was Flight?
A G1 race since 1984, the Flight Stakes is a race won by special fillies - often the ones who go on to do extraordinary things on the track against all comers as older mares and that's as it should be as Hall Of Fame legend Flight exemplified that style of thoroughbred.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Warwick Farm
We had three heats for 2YO’s run at Warwick Farm on Friday morning over 815m with winners by Farnan, Ole Kirk and Kia Ora Stud’s first season sire Captivant, while Stay Inside had an impressive trial winner at Murray Bridge.