Voyage Bubble off the canvas for rousing second-straight Hong Kong Mile win
In what was a repeat result of the 2024 edition of the race, the Ricky Yiu-trained Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) produced a gutsy performance to deny Soul Rush (Rulership) in a classic finish to land the HK$36 million (approx. AU$6.9 million) Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) for the second year in a row.
The seven-year-old gelding had won by a length and a quarter from the fast-finishing Soul Rush last year, but this time around it was a slightly different ending to the race, albeit with the same result.
Ridden again by Zac Purton, Voyage Bubble jumped from an outside gate in barrier 12 but broke well and found himself in the perfect position just behind the pacesetting Pray For Mir (Justify).
Moving up to join the leader entering the home straight, the son of Deep Field (Northern Meteor) looked to have edged to the front inside the final 300 metres but was quickly overtaken by the Japanese raider Soul Rush.
However, battling back under a determined Purton drive, Voyage Bubble regained the lead inside the final 100 metres and was not to be headed again as he fended off the spirited Soul Rush and Cristian Demuro by a half-length at the line.
The John Size-trained Red Lion (Belardo), who had defeated Voyage Bubble by a short-head when a shock winner of the Champions Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) back in April, finished a further length and three-quarters back in third place, with OTI Racing’s Docklands (Massaat) another neck away in fourth.
“I think he just showed what type of horse he is,” Purton, who was enjoying a record-extending fifth win in the race, 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.
“When we reflect back upon all the great horses that have been in Hong Kong, he’s certainly going to be remembered in the way that he should. His CV is outstanding. To come out and go back-to-back in the Hong Kong Mile, it’s not an easy thing to do.”
Sunday’s success was Voyage Bubble’s fourth Group 1 of 2025, adding to victories in the Stewards’ Cup (Gr 1, 1600m), Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) and Champions & Chater Cup (Gr 1, 2400m), and displaying a rare trip versatility at the highest level.
“The horse has great heart,” Yiu said of the six-time Group 1 winner. “A lot of credit goes to the jockey, Zac, he did it so well. It seemed to me that he’d ridden the horse for a long time, but obviously, he knew him well from his last start.
“Although he’s seven, I don’t really feel the age of him. He’s still full of beans. After we got beaten last time we decided to go for the Mile.”
On Voyage Bubble’s owners, the Sunshine And Moonlight Syndicate, Yiu added: “It’s a really nice group of people. Every time the horse runs, they’re cheering.”
Harry Eustace’s Royal Ascot hero Docklands ran a big race to be fourth, beaten two and a half lengths at the line, a huge improvement on his 12th-placed finish in the race last year. Of the performance, his rider Tom Marquand said: “He ran a huge race. He broke well, so we were a bit close to the speed, he chased those front two nicely.”