Trainer Ricky Yiu is hoping to go one better with stable flagbearer Voyage Bubble in the HK$36 million Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m) on Sunday, December 8 at Sha Tin after the galloper finished second behind former champion Golden Sixty in 2023.
Yiu’s charge will step away from barrier five against 13 rivals as he aims to follow on from last-start HK$5.35 million Group 2 Jockey Club Mile (1600m) success.
“He’s a very smart horse and he’s easy to handle – jockeys really like to ride him. He enjoys Conghua very much – it’s a very nice place and a good setup,” Yiu said. “They’re relaxed in Conghua. They enjoy it, they eat more and they build up more – body wise.”
“It’s all falling into the right place. He’s had a couple of good gallops on the grass and it has been a very good preparation. This horse seems to be improving still little by little. There’s still quite a bit left in him, although he’s had a lot of tough runs.”
Recently acclaimed World’s Best Jockey for a second time, James McDonald will gun for a second Group 1 atop the six-year-old Voyage Bubble this weekend, who also raced in Dubai and Japan last season.
“I’d expect him to be competitive, for sure, because he’s a very consistent horse and his lead-up run (Jockey Club Mile on November 17 at Sha Tin) was great – he’ll improve off that as well, so he’s a horse that makes his own luck up on the speed and I’m sure he’ll give a great sight.
“It’s a strong race as you’d expect. He ran second in the race in 2023 and he’s going as good as that,” McDonald said. “It’s an extremely fair start there from the mile – it’s a nice run down the back straight.”
Drawing stall 14 of 14 at Thursday’s barrier draw ceremony at Sha Tin, Galaxy Patch is aiming to bounce back after he was third in the Jockey Club Mile to Voyage Bubble. The Group 1-placed son of Wandjina – who is trained by Pierre Ng – won three races in Group 2 and Group 3 company under Vincent Ho prior to defeat.
“He galloped well this morning – the jockey is happy, the horse is fit and well. This time I think we just have to ride him very quiet and go for a strong finish to try and catch them,” Ng said. “It’s how you preserve him towards the straight. Try to switch him off and he’ll give you a very good (final) sectional.
“His last racing style didn’t suit him – his last run. We’ve learnt from that and I’ve told Vincent from now on we know what we have got to do in the future,” Ng said.
Stablemate Taj Dragon will display similar tactics, says Ng: “We went a little bit forward on him last time and (jockey) Andrea (Atzeni) said it didn’t suit him best. This time we will probably ride him quiet and get him to finish off to get some prize money.”
Soul Rush drew gate 10; fellow Japanese runner Jantar Mantar has gate eight. Connections of both Japanese contenders were satisfied with their draws. Lazzat from France will jump from barrier seven for trainer Jerome Reynier.
“It’s good to be in the middle. When we won the (2024) Dubai Turf (Group 1, 1800m) with Facteur Cheval he was in stall eight of 16 and here Lazzat has got seven of 14 so it’s what I wanted,” Reynier said. “He’s not in danger of getting shut in, down on the rail, or getting stuck three or four wide if he had got a high number.”
Antino (barrier four), Beauty Joy (13), Docklands (two), Happy Together (six), Chancheng Glory (one) and Ramadan (three) also feature. Master trainer John Size saddles Beauty Eternal (11) and Red Lion (12), hopeful of collecting another win in the race after Glorious Days prevailed in 2013.
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