While Voyage Bubble’s brilliant surge to a fifth Group One success and a Triple Crown clean sweep rightly demanded much of the attention at Sha Tin on Sunday, the champion galloper also quietly ticked another box on the weekend by becoming just the fourth Hong Kong-trained horse to amass HK$100 million in prize money.

More than HK$61 million of his HK$107,472,475 career earnings have come in a superb 2024-25 campaign that has featured four elite-level victories and a HK$10 million Triple Crown bonus for his troubles.

It’ll go down as one of the better campaigns ever seen from a Hong Kong galloper but amazingly, may not be enough to secure him Horse of the Year honours at the end of the term.

While Romantic Warrior has been immense again this season, it does look a race in two between Ka Ying Rising and Voyage Bubble.

Many still have Ka Ying Rising as the front runner after an undefeated eight-run campaign lined with four Group One successes and multiple track-record-breaking efforts.

Those in Voyage Bubble’s corner can make a compelling case for Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s galloper, however.

He has bagged more prize money than Ka Ying Rising this season, has been far more versatile than the sprinter by winning at the top level over 1,600m, 2000m and 2,400m and he just became Hong Kong’s second ever Triple Crown winner, and first in 31 years.

Amid the euphoria that followed Voyage Bubble’s three-and-a-half-length Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) demolition job on Sunday, jockey James McDonald briefly cast his thoughts back to Voyage Bubble’s agonising defeat at the hands of Red Lion in last month’s Group One Champions Mile.

After prevailing by a short head, $90 shot Red Lion had to survive a protest from the connections of $1.6 favourite Voyage Bubble before securing the prize.

“I still can’t believe he got beat last time, to be fair,” said McDonald on Sunday.

If that short-head margin does cost Voyage Bubble Horse of the Year honours, there is little doubt he can count himself just about as unlucky as any galloper who has missed out on the gong.

McDonald the main man

While Voyage Bubble couldn’t quite snare five Group One wins this campaign, McDonald certainly could as he continued his extraordinary fly-in, fly-out feature-race spree in Hong Kong.

Thanks to Romantic Warrior’s Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) success and Voyage Bubble’s four top-line wins, McDonald led the way in 2024-25 by winning five of the 12 elite-level contests of the campaign.

Zac Purton was the other jockey to bag multiple Group One wins, saluting three times aboard Ka Ying Rising, while the Australia-based McDonald has now plundered 12 Group One successes in Hong Kong in the past two and a half years.

Group Threes look red hot

While the Group Ones are behind us for another season, there are still four Group features to come in 2024-25, starting with this Saturday’s Group Three Sha Tin Vase (1,200m) and Group Three Lion Rock Trophy (1,600m).

Won last season by Ka Ying Rising, this year’s Sha Tin Vase is headlined by four-time Group One winner Lucky Sweynesse and the ever-consistent Helios Express.

Rounding out the 11 entries are Lucky With You, Victor The Winner, Patch Of Theta, Magic Control, Invincible Sage, Mugen, Copartner Prance, Beauty Waves and Lady’s Choice.

The Lion Rock Trophy has also attracted 11 entries and a string of Group One performers, with Red Lion and Beauty Eternal joined by Chancheng Glory, Beauty Joy, Happy Together, Sunlight Power, Divano, Encountered, Johannes Brahms, Ka Ying Generation and Pray For Mir.