THE START OF A MAGICAL TIME IN HONG KONG RACING

By Graham Potter | Thursday, November 20, 2025

When the stars come out to play … it’s almost magical.

Ok, maybe that’s a stretch, but the Hong Kong meeting at Sha Tin on Sunday has literally a feast of equine excellence on offer, enough to thrill even the most even the most battle hardened of racing enthusiasts.

And we are still three weeks away from the Longines International Jockeys’ Championship and the Longines Hong Kong International Races … so much to take in on Sunday, so much to look forward to … we are going to have to take some deep breaths.

Where do you start with Sunday’s fare.

Perhaps with the local return of Ka Ying Rising in The Bochk Private Banking Jockey Club SPRINT, where the World’s Best Sprinter resumes following his successful sortie to Sydney and a mighty win in the $20 million The Everest?

In winning The Everest, the David Hayes trained superstar took his unbeaten run to fifteen straight wins and he will be looking to extend that record on Saturday as he attempts to continue to close in on a further piece of history with only Silent Witness (17) and Golden Sixty (16) sitting at the top of the all-time Hong Kong winning streak ladder.

Or perhaps the Romantic Warrior v Voyage Bubble could get top billing in The Bochk Jockey Club Cup. That’s an equally intriguing contest between riders as it is between horses. McDonald v Purton, both on proven champions … how good is that … or, not forgetting the men guiding these horse’s careers, Shum v Yiu.

Romantic Warrior’s honour roll is too long to post here. Suffice to say he is a Group 1 winner in four countries (including the 2023 Cox Plate) and simply stuns his opposition into submission on his home turf, as evidenced by the fact that he will be bidding for his fourth straight win in the the Hong Kong Cup On International Races day on December 14, after creating history with his hat trick of wins in that event in 2022. 2023 and 2024.

Romantic Warrior holds the world record for earnings (HK$214.70 million) and shares the title as the city’s most prolific Group 1 winner on ten victories, with Golden Sixty.
Voyage Bubble is a Hong Kong Triple Crown winner comprising the Stewards Cup over 1600m, the Hong Kong Gold Cup over 2000m and the Chaters and Champions Cup over 2400m.

The fact that, before Voyage Bubble, the last horse to win the Hong Kong Triple Crown was River Verdon in 1994, underlined the strength of Voyage Bubble’s achievement. Enough said.

The Bochk Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile is the third feature race on the card … and here the mark Newnham trained My Wish will be a sharp point of focus.

The possible emerging star is unbeaten in two starts this season, first winning the Group 3 Celebration Cup over 1400m and then making a smooth upward transition to take out a Group 2 Sha Tin Trophy over1600m.

All of these three races referenced will be contested at Group 2 level.

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