Is The Mile At The Mercy Of The Locals?
Hong Kong’s dominant record in the G1 Hong Kong Mile has Ricky Yiu and Mark Newnham confident that the winner’s purse will be banked at home again this year.
Yiu has the defending champion and last year’s Hong Kong Triple Crown hero Voyage Bubble, while the rising star My Wish represents Newnham’s stable in the 14-runner contest. Hong Kong horses have won 19 of the last 21 editions of the Mile.
“The competition will be among the Hong Kong horses,” Yiu told Idol Horse. “My Wish, Galaxy Patch, and even my other contender Sunlight Power, he’ll also run well.
“Sunlight Power is improving a little bit in each run. It was a good effort for the third in the Group 1 with Christophe Soumillon on him and we have the same jockey. I strongly believe he’ll run well again.”
The field also features Japan’s Soul Rush, second last year, as well as the Japanese classic-winning filly Embroidery, plus The Lion In Winter, Docklands and Beauvatier from Europe.
“I think Ricky’s right,” Newnham told Idol Horse. “The history of the race tells you that it is between the Hong Kong horses, and generally the best milers in Hong Kong are very competitive in this race every year. You look at their multiple winners – Golden Sixty, Good Ba Ba – and hopefully My Wish can start the ball rolling for himself this season.”
Newnham sees Voyage Bubble as “the one to beat” after Yiu’s seven-year-old showed his wellbeing when second behind the outstanding Romantic Warrior over 2000m last time.
“I think Voyage Bubble is just a versatile horse and he’s got tactical speed similar to My Wish,” Newnham said. “Voyage Bubble led the other day but relaxed, he’s the sort of horse that can make his own luck. He jumps well, travels nicely, never spends any extra energy and is stronger to finish.
“The last time they met, we had a race fitness advantage and a 20-pound advantage, which we don’t get this time, so we’ve got to come up a level to him.”
Yiu reported Voyage Bubble to be “doing fine” and expects a fresh horse after an easy barrier trial last week under big-race pilot Zac Purton.
“That was all about keeping him fresh, just keeping him ticking over,” Yiu explained. “I said to the jockey that the trial was about just keeping him happy, just making him focus at the jump and he did it very easily, that’s why he finished at the back.”
Meanwhile, Newnham explained that My Wish was “too fresh” as the 1.4 favourite when beaten into fourth behind Galaxy Patch in the G2 Jockey Club Mile last time.
“Five weeks between runs doesn’t suit him,” he said. “He’s a really high-energy little horse that just needs to keep up regular racing more than anything.
“I haven’t lost confidence in the horse. I could see why he didn’t win, and if you look at that race, the horses that shared the hot speed with him were well out of it at the finish whereas he was only beaten a length.
“Being too fresh just took away that two lengths he generally puts on the field and had done at his first two starts back,” Newnham continued. “Three weeks between runs have been his peak performances, so second-up this season and a three-week break into last season’s Derby, they’ve been – in my opinion – his two peak runs and he gets that this week.”
Newnham planned to give My Wish one more fast work on Friday morning and added, “he’ll go there in peak condition and we’ll find out if he’s good enough.”
Floor Is Open To Emerging Fillies In Hanshin Feature
December is a big month for Japan’s two-year-olds with all three of the Japan Racing Association’s (JRA) Group 1 juvenile races coming up, the first being Sunday’s Hanshin Juvenile Fillies.
It’s a race that usually points to further Group 1 success, and in the last five years the winners have included the iconic classic heroines Liberty Island and Sodashi, as well as the subsequent G1 Oka Sho (1,000 Guineas) runner-up Ascoli Piceno who went on to win the G1 Victoria Mile and the G2 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia.
There’s no hyped-up standout this year, but likely favourite Alankar ticks a couple boxes. She is two from two after her wide margin win at Hanshin in September and is a daughter of Sinhalite, winner of Japan’s Oaks, the G1 Yushun Himba, in 2016.
But she has not yet contested a Group race and that’s a path no Hanshin Juvenile Fillies winner has trod since Soul Stirring in 2016. But the winners of the key lead ups are missing this year: the G2 Fantasy Stakes winner Festival Hill is sidelined and the unbeaten G3 Artemis Stakes heroine Firostefani has retired.
Festival Hill’s and Firostefani’s form will be on show, though, thanks to Artemis Stakes second Mitsukane Venera and the third that day, Taisei Vogue: the latter was second to the colt Realize Sirius, with Festival Hill third, in the G3 Niigata Nisai.
That all makes for an open contest, which also includes Arbanne, winner of the Saffron Sho last time; also the unbeaten Shiragiku Sho winner Margot Love Me, a granddaughter of Coolmore’s Group 1-winning mare Together.
Group race winning form might be missing this year, but expect to see a couple of these among the classic contenders when spring comes around.
This Week In Horse Racing History
Fujiyama Kenzan gave Japan its first Group race win outside of Japan when winning the Hong Kong Cup on December 10, 1995 for trainer Hideyuki Mori and jockey Masayoshi Ebina.
Steve Cauthen made history on December 10, 1977 when he became the first jockey to accrue purse money of US$6 million in a single season. It was the young sensation’s second season riding and would help him claim the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year title as well as the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year award.
On December 10, 1999 Laffit Pincay Jr. rode his 8,834th career win to pass Bill Shoemaker and become the world’s winningest jockey. The horse that took him clear was Irish Nip at Hollywood Park.
Hong Kong’s champion miler Good Ba Ba broke new ground on December 14, 2008 when he won the G1 Hong Kong Mile for a third time in as many years, becoming the first horse to win one of the Hong Kong International Races three times.
Idol Horse Reads Of The Week
Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior worked at Sha Tin within half an hour of each other on Tuesday and David Morgan’s report from the track details what went on and the expectations around the two champions.
Shane Dye’s column this week has the former star jockey revealing what he believes makes Hong Kong’s all-time great trainer John Size such an exceptional champion.
French-American rider Florent Geroux has had an unusual year with a Dubai World Cup win and a drop off in numbers; he spoke to Idol Horse last week as he prepared for his first weekend riding in Japan.
With the Hong Kong International Races this weekend, now would be the ideal time to revisit this article from a year ago when James McDonald spoke to David Morgan about his Hong Kong racing education, going right back to his Group 1 breakthrough in the city as a 20-year-old.
Racing Photo Of The Week
Japanese filly Embroidery emerging from the shadows at morning trackwork in Hong Kong. The Kazutomo Mori-trained Shuka Sho winner takes on Hong Kong stars Voyage Bubble and My Wish in Sunday’s G1 Hong Kong Mile.
Date
9 December, 2025
Photographer
Grant Courtney (@paomaphotos)
Location
Sha Tin
Japanese filly Embroidery emerging from the shadows at morning trackwork in Hong Kong. The Kazutomo Mori-trained Shuka Sho winner takes on Hong Kong stars Voyage Bubble and My Wish in Sunday’s G1 Hong Kong Mile.
Global Blackbook
It’s always worth keeping a lookout for a Todd Pletcher-trained filly in the G2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct and that was the case last weekend when Zany gave the handler his 10th victory in the mile and an eighth contest for juvenile fillies.
The Repole Stable-owned daughter of American Pharoah took the lead at the top of the stretch and galloped away from the field, ears pricked, for a comfortable eight and a half-length win under Irad Ortiz.
Pletcher has used this race consistently as a route to greater things. Ashado was already a Grade 1 winner when she took the prize in 2003 but went on to win six more at the top level including the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Malathaat also won those two races among six Grade 1 wins, while Stopchargingmaria and the Belmont Stakes second Nest were also multiple Grade 1 winners after taking the Demoiselle.
World Horse Racing Calendar: What’s Coming Up
Hong Kong International Races
Sha Tin, December 14
Sha Tin’s marquee meeting looms as a blockbuster event, with the perfect blend of global superstars on show and fiendishly competitive Group 1 contests. Ka Ying Rising will be a dominant favourite when he bids to retain his crown in the G1 Hong Kong Sprint and collect his 16th consecutive win after yet another impressive success in the G2 Jockey Club Sprint last month. He has already broken the track record on two occasions and all eyes will be on the clock to see whether or not he can lower his own record again. Voyage Bubble dropping back in trip has injected fresh life into the G1 Hong Kong Mile, with My Wish looking to get back on track and Japanese filly Embroidery bringing class. Romantic Warrior will be out to make history as the only horse to win four races at the Hong Kong International Races when he guns for a fourth consecutive Hong Kong Cup. The race of the day might be the Vase, though, with defending champion Giavellotto taking on Sosie, Urban Chic and Al Riffa.
Hanshin Juvenile Fillies
Hanshin, December 14
With multiple graded stakes winners ruled out, this year’s Hanshin Juvenile Fillies has become a hard race to read, but the unbeaten-in-two Alankar is expected to be the main focus. A victory here would give her a Group 1 title to follow in the footsteps of her dam Sinhalite and make the prospect of mother-and-daughter Classic victories a realistic one. The Safran Sho impressive winner Arbanne, and Star Anise who has a narrow second in G3 company on her record, are also highly regarded. Garavogue, a full sister to Danon Scorpion, would be an interesting contender if she can make the field by coming through the ballot. Meanwhile, Sodashi’s sister Marga is expected to skip the race.
Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes
Hanshin, December 21
Realize Sirius, who powered away to a four-length victory in the G3 Niigata Nisai Stakes in August, is expected to attract major attention. He was a seven-length winner on debut in June and is a standout talent with dominant wins in both of his two starts. At the same time, Admire Quads who captured the G2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes in a two-year-old track record, is a similarly exciting prospect. Graded stakes winners such as Ecoro Alba and Diamond Knot also come into the race with strong reputations, and although the field is not large in number, it looks set to be a race stacked with high-class performers.
Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix)
Nakayama, December 28
This is a race in which the main focus will be on Regaleira’s bid for back-to-back victories. Having captured last month’s G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, she is expected to start as the favourite, in contrast to last year when her true ability was viewed with some skepticism. Danon Decile experienced an incident in which he ran loose after the finish in the Japan Cup, where he finished third, but he was uninjured and will line up in the Arima Kinen. Byzantine Dream, who finished fifth in the Arc, and Satsuki Sho winner Museum Mile have also been declared. For Justin Palace, this race will be his final start. ∎
