Voyage Bubble just edged victory over old rival Soul Rush in a thrilling finish to the Longines Hong Kong Mile.
The duo fought out the finish to the Sha Tin Group One 12 months ago, with the Ricky Yiu-trained Voyage Bubble prevailing by a length and a quarter from Yasutoshi Ikee’s Japanese raider Soul Rush, but the pair were much closer this time.
It looked as though Soul Rush had the advantage over Voyage Bubble when he edged in front inside the final two furlongs, but Zac Purton was not giving up on Voyage Bubble and the gelding responded to his every urging to get back on terms with the post in sight and eventually shade victory on the line.
The Harry Eustace-trained Docklands, winner of the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, was always towards the fore and stayed on well to take fourth place.
Purton, who was completing a Group One double after Ka Ying Rising’s demolition job in the Sprint, said: “I think he just showed what type of horse he is, he’s not going to give you a ‘wow’ performance but he’s got such a big heart that he’s just always up for the fight.
“He’s in the shadow of the big two (Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior) unfortunately but in his own right he’s an extremely 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.”
Yiu was full of praise for both Voyage Bubble and Purton.
He said: “The horse has great heart. 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.”