Voyage Bubble entered the annals of Hong Kong’s greatest racehorses on Sunday with an imperious victory in the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m), becoming just the second horse to win the city’s Triple Crown 31 years on from River Verdon.
The Hong Kong Triple Crown consists of January’s G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m), February’s G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and then the Champions & Chater Cup, one of only three races at 2400m run in the city each year.
“Dreams come true,” trainer Ricky Yiu said. “When I won the first two legs I started dreaming of the Triple Crown and today dreams have come true. It’s amazing.”
Stepping out beyond 2000m for the first time in his career, Voyage Bubble looked right at home at the mile and a half. Ridden by regular partner James McDonald, the six-year-old raced clear to win by an easy three-and-a-half lengths.
This season’s four-year-olds ran with distinction: Classic Cup winner Rubylot ran home powerfully for second, Hong Kong Derby hero Cap Ferrat stuck on well for fourth and Queen Mother Memorial Cup victor Bundle Award made ground late from last for fifth. Only globetrotting Group 1 star Dubai Honour split that bunch, fading into fourth after a tough run near the speed.
“It was a good field but the more I looked at it, the more I thought he could run in the top two and potentially win the Triple Crown,” Yiu said. “He’s done so well, I’m so impressed with him.”
When River Verdon won the Hong Kong Triple Crown in 1993-94, the Stewards’ Cup was run in November, the Hong Kong Gold Cup in March and the Champions & Chater Cup – over a shortened 2200m – in May.
The Triple Crown had only been on the line once since. That came in 2012, when Ambitious Dragon finished second to Liberator in the Champions & Chater Cup after facile wins in the first two legs.
Golden Sixty won the first two legs twice, in 2021 and 2023, but never stretched out to 2400m.
While Voyage Bubble may never be as popular as Golden Sixty or other Hong Kong champions like Romantic Warrior, he has achieved something that has been beyond every great horse over the past three decades.
“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.”
It was Yiu’s first ever winner at 2400m and adds another milestone to his illustrious training career, which spans almost 30 years. He has prepared Group 1 winners in Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, while his great horses have included Fairy King Prawn, Sacred Kingdom, Amber Sky – and now Voyage Bubble.
“This win gives us options,” Yiu said. “I don’t know what we do with him next season but anywhere from a mile to a mile and a half, it’s worth a chance.”
It was also McDonald’s 12th Group 1 win of 2025 – a number that could have been even higher given he was beaten a neck in the G1 Saudi Cup, a nose in the G1 George Ryder Stakes, a head in the G1 Golden Slipper, a nose in the G1 Dubai Turf and a short head in the G1 Champions Mile.
That last defeat was on Voyage Bubble, but there were no similar concerns on Sunday as Voyage Bubble proved that he is every bit a Hong Kong great. ∎
