A confident Ricky Yiu Poon-fai is confident Voyage Bubble can turn Galaxy Patch when they meet in Group II at Jockey Club BOCHK on Sunday.
Voyage Bubble, who won the Galaxy Patch Group Tu Sha Tin Trophy (1600m) last October, will race this weekend looking to exact revenge on rising star Pierre Ng Pangchi.
Voyage Bubble will give Kiwi superstar James McDonald’s an extra boost as he looks to build on his success in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) in January.
“He did very well in his last start,” Yu said. “It was my first appearance of the season and it was really good.
“I’m looking forward to Sunday. James is scheduled to travel and I think the Galaxy patch will change that.”Voyage Bubble topped last year’s Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m), beating Golden Sixty and Macdonald’s Eternal Beauty in the Stewards Cup. Romantic Warrior won overseas in Dubai and Tokyo, narrowly missing stable star Yuu in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and finishing bravely third in the Group 1 Mile of Champions in April.
After a good season in the Sha Tin Trophy, Voyage Bubble stretched his legs in an uneventful test at Konghua last week with the son of Deep Field riding conservatively to finish midfield.
“He had a trial on Tuesday and was full of energy. He was just a good horse,” Yiu said. “I was very happy with the test, I told the rider to have fun and he did well.”Voyage Bubble weighed 135 pounds in his last start (six pounds more than Galaxy Patch) and will add another five pounds to Ng’s fee as a Group 1 winner this weekend. He will also face Champions Mile winner Beauty Eternal and fellow Straight Arron, who finished third on his first start in the Shatin Trophy.
Galaxy Patch is a star! 🌙5-year-old Pierre Ng was too big and too strong with @Vincenthocy in the G2 Sha Tin Trophy on Sunday… 🙌#LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/pWheuUG8CTIn his first start for Yiu, Tyke Arron put in a strong performance in midfield and performed well under Brenton Avdullah in the closing stages. Despite the Straight suggesting at the start of the season that Arron might be past his prime after making 19 appearances for Caspar Founce, Yee now feels the son of Fastnet Rock has more to offer. “It’s close,” Yiu said. “He has improved so much since I met him. When I first got it, I didn’t know how much was left, but now that I look at it, I feel like there’s still something left.”Straight has had four successes in Aaron Pounce’s two seasons, including winning the Jockey Club Group Two Cup (2,000m) last November.
The galloper has won over 1800m but Yu believes he has the potential to succeed over shorter distances. “I think a mile is good,” Yiu said. “I played well last time and the prize money was good.”Yu is 7th in the Coaches Championship with 8 wins in the first 19 games of the season. The veteran manager will take six runners to Happy Valley on Wednesday in a field of nine, including Smart City, Victorythirtytwo, Bowser, Affirm, Golden Artie and Eason.
