Standard Chartered
Champions & Chater Cup (Group 1)
GIVEN a perfect ride by McDonald, Voyage Bubble streaked to a three and a half-length victory over Rubylot and Cap Ferrat to become only the second horse in Hong Kong racing history, after River Verdon in 1993/94, to complete the Group 1 Triple Crown by winning the HK$13 million Stewards’ Cup, HK$13 million Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup in the same season.
The winner secured a HK$10 million Triple Crown bonus, plus the winners’ purse of HK$7.28 million, to take his career earnings to HK$107.4 million for the Sunshine And Moonlight Syndicate.
With regular rider James McDonald up for trainer Ricky Yiu, Voyage Bubble led the 10-horse field down the back. The pace picked up when Zac Purton moved on Ensued which strung out the field and opened the way for Voyage Bubble and he smoothly made up ground, led inside the 300m marker and won by three and a half lengths.
Hong Kong Derby winner Cap Ferrat finished third, with William Haggas’ Dubai Honour and Tom Marquand finished fourth after they took second at halfway, led before three out but driven and headed two out and had no extra in the final furlong
Once in a blue moon
“I couldn’t have dreamed of it panning out as well as that. That’s once in a blue moon,” McDonald reported to media on his winner. “He was going to be hard to beat even without such a good run, but it all worked out. From the 600 meters, 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 but were beaten by 89/1 outsider Red Lion in the HK$24 million Group 1 FWD Champions Mile 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,” McDonald said. “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.
Trainer Ricky Yiu said: “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.”
An Australian bred by Deep Field, Voyage Bubble has five Group 1 wins to his name.
Lady Ilze takes German Guineas
THERE was a British-bred winner of the Group 2 105th German 1000 Guineas over a mile in Dusseldorf on Sunday when Lady Ilze, a daughter of Territories, gained a length win for owners Westminster Race Horses GMBH
Trained by Andreas Wohler and ridden by Adrie de Vries, she scored from D’Ores Et Deja and Place Fonteno with favourite Flaming Stone of the nine runners.
Impression
Group 2 Coolmore City Of Troy German 2000 Guineas winner Matilda, who made such a big impression a week previous, winning against the colts by over six lengths.