No Nay Never Gelding Becomes Hong Kong Derby Royalty

Chan Kam Hung's Massive Sovereign (Ire) (No Nay Never–Sweet Charity {Fr}, by Myboycharlie {Ire}) continued his Hong Kong progression in stirring fashion with a come-from-behind victory under Zac Purton in the HK$26,000,000 BMW Hong Kong Derby at Sha Tin on Sunday. The time of 1:59.85 was a new record for the race since the distance was changed to 2000 metres in 2000, with Massive Sovereign bettering the mark of Hong Kong phenom Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro)'s 2:00.15 set in 2020.

The winner's neck defeat of the Group 1-placed Galaxy Patch (Aus) (Wandjina {Aus}) also marked a one-three finish for horses bred and formerly trained in Ireland, as G3 Gallinule S. second Ka Ying Generation (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), ran third by three-quarters of a length.

Once the gates flew, 39-1 longshot Ka Ying Generation, with Andrea Atzeni at the controls, hustled up to anchor the vanguard, with Purton's mount second to last through the first 400 metres in :25.53. The pace quickened from there, with the first 800 metres covered in :49.45, but the 17-5 shot was keen to do more, just to the outside of favoured Helios Express (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}), who had scooped the first two legs of the 4-Year-Old Classic series. That duo soon reached the main body of the field, while Ka Ying Generation continued on by his lonesome at halfway.

Atzeni gave his mount a nudge and soon opened up four lengths on his rivals on the final bend. By the 300-metre mark, he was six lengths clear, and it was not immediately apparent that any of his foes had the requisite turn of foot to run him down. Purton, who won his first HK Derby with Luger (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}) in 2015, was undeterred and steered Massive Sovereign through traffic and he soon had the game-but-tiring frontrunner dead to rights. Unleashing a brilliant closing kick, the eventual winner hit the front four strides from the line, and fended off the rush of Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup second Galaxy Patch to his outside. Ka Ying Generation clung grimly on to complete the trifecta.

The winner covered his final 600 metres in a sharp :33.84, while the first three home all broke the two-minute mark for the 2000 metre distance. Helios Express's bid flattened in the final stages and he finished eighth.

“It's very exciting,” said former Hong Kong champion trainer Dennis Yip, who was winning his first HK Derby. “I think the Derby for me is more important than the championship [in 2012/13]…but this one for my life is the big one.

“He's a very special horse with a very good mind. The last 200m I was very nervous but I rely on Zac. He is the champion jockey in Hong Kong and everything was good with the horse.

“This horse, the first day he arrived in Hong Kong, he [Purton] sent me the video [of Massive Sovereign winning at Leopardstown] and told me he thought he was a nice horse and asked me if he could ride him.”

“I didn't really have a horse for the Derby until this bloke won so, like when I won on Luger, it was a late pick-up ride into the race,” said Purton.

“I feel extremely honoured and privileged to have found such a horse to win it. To win the race itself, it's the most prestigious race in Hong Kong and I've had a frustrating run in this race and a frustrating season, so it's nice to get another big one–and probably the biggest one among the local races overall.”

A winner of a Dundalk all-weather affair at third asking last April, Broadhurst, as he was known prior to his arrival in Hong Kong, ran second in a Naas handicap later that spring for the Coolmore partners and trainer Aidan O'Brien. Originally a €620,000 Goffs Orby yearling, he was gelded after winning a Leopardstown handicap in September, and changed hands privately before making a striking debut at Sha Tin over this course and distance under Purton on Mar. 3 (video).

The G1 FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin over this distance on Apr. 28 is next in the cards for Massive Sovereign.

“I've already entered him for [the FWD QEII Cup] at the end of April,” Yip added. “I will see how the horse pulls up. If he's good and he improves, I will go this way. I'm very happy, it's amazing for my life. What a memory.”

Pedigree Notes

Coolmore Stud's No Nay Never now has 58 stakes winners (34 group) worldwide to his name, while Massive Sovereign is his first stakes winner in Hong Kong. Need I Say More (Aus), racing as Spirited Express in Hong Kong, ran third in the G3 HKJC Premier Plate. A winner of the 2013 G1 Prix Morny, the son of Scat Daddy bred 190 mares in 2023.

From the same family as French stakes winner Aktoria (Fr) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), herself the dam of multiple group winner Greenland (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), Sweet Charity won the Listed Prix de Liancourt and was third in the GII Santa Ana S. in America. At stud, she has visited No Nay Never exclusively, with Massive Sovereign her first foal and first stakes winner. His 3-year-old full-sister Love Comedy (Ire), a €75,000 Goffs Orby yearling, is a winner in Japan. Juvenile filly Boxie (Ire) has yet to race, while Sweet Charity has another yearling full-sister to the HK Derby winner still to come.

 

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
BMW HONG KONG DERBY-Listed, HK$26,000,000, Sha Tin, 3-24, NH/SH 4yo, 2000mT, 1:59.85, gd/fm.
1–MASSIVE SOVEREIGN (IRE), 126, g, 4, by No Nay Never
                1st Dam: Sweet Charity (Fr) (SW-Fr & GSP-US, $170,312),
                                by Myboycharlie (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Sapfo (Fr), by Peintre Celebre
                3rd Dam: Granadilla (GB), by Zafonic
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€620,000 Ylg '21 GOFSEP). O-Chan
Kam Hung. B-Lynch Bages, Ltd. & Summerhill Bloodstock.
T-Dennis Yip. J-Zac Purton. HK$14,560,000. Lifetime Record:
7-4-2-0, HK$16,570,382. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Galaxy Patch (Aus), 126, g, 4, Wandjina (Aus)–Voltara (Aus),
by More Than Ready. (A$50,000 Ylg '21 MMLMAR). O-Yeung
King Man. B-Summerset Park Stud (SA). T-Pierre Ng.
HK$5,460,000.
3–Ka Ying Generation (Ire), 126, g, 4, Churchill (Ire)–War
Goddess (Ire), by Champs Elysees (GB). O-Happy Ka Ying
Syndicate. B-Whisperview Trading, Ltd. (Ire). T-Pierre Ng.
HK$2,990,000.
Margins: NK, 3/4, 3. Odds: 3.40, 6.20, 39.00.
Also Ran: Chill Chibi (NZ), Unbelievable, Chancheng Glory, Speed Dragon (NZ), Helios Express (Aus), Helene Feeling (Ire), Star Mac (Aus), Elliptical (Aus), Ensued, Simple Hedge (Aus), Beauty Crescent (Ire). Click for the HKJC chart, PPs and sectional timing.

 

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Strong European Challenge for Hong Kong’s Champions Day

Group 1 winners Regional (GB) (Territories {Ire}) and Dubai Honour (Ire) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) head 12 European entries for the FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on April 28. A strong international challenge also includes 25 potential runners from Japan, eight from Australia and three from the UAE, while there are 41 locally-trained entries.

Regional, now six, gave his trainer Ed Bethell a first Group 1 success in last year's Haydock Sprint Cup and he has been entered for the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize, with prize-money totalling approximately £2.2 million. His fellow British-trained horses Annaf (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), Believing (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and Frost At Dawn (Frosted) are also entered.

The William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour, a dual Group 1 winner in Australia, would be returning for a third run in Hong Kong. He was fourth in the 2021 G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup and third last year in the G1 FWD QEII Cup, which this time around is worth approximately £2.8 million. Haggas has also entered Maljoom (Ire) (Caravaggio) for the G1 FWD Champions Mile, which could also feature Middleham Park Racing's globetrotting Brave Emperor (Ire) (Sioux Nation), trained by Archie Watson, and Fort Payne (Fr) (Rio De La Plata) for French trainer Nicolas Caullery.

Three of the winners of last December's Hong Kong International Races – Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse {Aus}) – hold entries for the meeting, along with Japan's Fillies' Triple Crown winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and Godolphin's Measured Time (GB) (Frankel {GB}), winner of the G1 Jebel Hatta in January.

“We are excited by the spread and quality of international entries among the nominations for FWD Champions Day,” said Andrew Harding, executive director of racing for the Hong Kong Jockey Cub.

“The potential return of Golden Sixty in the FWD Champions Mile after his stunning Longines Hong Kong Mile performance in December, along with Romantic Warrior in the FWD QEII Cup and Lucky Sweynesse in the Chairman's Sprint Prize, lays the foundation for another wonderful staging of our spring flagship meeting.

“We are delighted at the support we have received from overseas owners and trainers in Japan, England, France, Ireland, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, with the number of entries across our three Group 1 features rising from 71 last season to 89 this year.”

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James Ross To Join HKJC

Australian Turf Club (ATC) Head Of Racing and Wagering James Ross will shortly take up a leading role with the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) after eight years at the ATC. He announced his resignation on Thursday and will finish his tenure with the ATC after this year's Autumn carnival.

“James has been instrumental in ATC remaining at the forefront of racing in Australia,” CEO Matt Galanos told Racing NSW. “He has ensured ATC has continued to forge a reputation as an industry leader through the delivery of a world-class racing product and development of both racing and training surfaces. James has led a team which has also greatly improved the ownership experience, industry and wagering initiatives along with significant growth in international participation across Autumn and Spring carnivals. We thank James for his outstanding service and it is measure of not only his talent but also the standing of Sydney racing that the Hong Kong Jockey Club has offered him such a role.”

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Voyage Bubble ‘Bursts’ Onto Scene In Stewards’ Cup

Make no mistake. Even a sidelined Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) remains the king of the hill among Hong Kong milers, if not the entire planet.

The 8-year-old showed he still had plenty to give with a remarkable first-up performance from a terrible draw in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Dec. 10, and the horse he beat that day, Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}), showed that his effort was anything but a one-off, outlasting Beauty Eternal (Aus) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in Sunday's G1 Stewards' Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Having belied rough odds to cause a surprise in last year's BMW Hong Kong Derby over 10 furlongs, Voyage Bubble has been kept to the mile thus far this season, and his effort last month ensured that he'd have the target on his back Sunday. The $1.90 favourite put himself right into the early mix, as California Spangle (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) set a modest tempo in advance of Beauty Eternal. When the latter pushed away from his spot at the fence, Voyage Bubble was hung out three deep at the 600 metres, but was still going well, as the longer-winded Straight Arron (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) launched a four-wide bid at the top of the straight. Zac Purton sent Beauty Eternal past the pacesetter approaching the furlong grounds, but Voyage Bubble had his measure and finished his race off slightly the better for the victory. Beauty Joy (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) ran on decently for third.

“I was in a nice, controlling position where I felt like if the pace slackened–which it did–that I was in a free-rolling position and I had enough room around so that I could go when I wanted to go and it worked out perfectly,” said jockey James McDonald, who recently completed a short-term contract in Hong Kong and was jetting in from Australia for Sunday's ride. “He put in a fantastic run in the International Mile and backed it up today. There's no heir apparent to Golden Sixty, but we're happy to be the next man jogging on the spot, so to speak, and we're probably lucky the champ wasn't there.”

Trainer Ricky Yiu has given Voyage Bubble an entry for the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan Mar. 30 and is also considering the G1 Doncaster Mile H. at Randwick at The Championships a week later. For his part, McDonald believes Voyage Bubble would not be out of his depth.

“He's going to be a force to be reckoned with here and a flagbearer for the horses here and I'm just looking forward to seeing where he fits in, obviously being such a young, progressive horse,” McDonald said.

 

 

 

Pedigree Notes:

As previously mentioned, Deep Field is the leading sire in Hong Kong by number of winners and progeny earnings. Voyage Bubble is the stallion's second elite-level scorer in Hong Kong, joining Longines Hong Kong Sprint hero Sky Field (Aus), and fourth overall. Deep Field, who was removed from stud duties at Newgate Farm last year due to an inability to get his mares in foal, is now the sire of 16 winners overall at group level. Rahy has now been represented by 20 Group 1/Grade I winners out of his daughters.

Given the sire's popularity locally, the Hong Kong Jockey Club signed for three yearlings at the recently concluded Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale for A$1.775 million, including a son of listed-placed Merited (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) for A$800,000.

Torryburn Stud, also the breeders of Hong Kong Group 1 winner Hot King Prawn (Aus) (Denman {Aus}), raced the dam of Voyage Bubble to four wins from 26 starts and she has since produced seven winners from seven to race, including the Group 3 winner Diddums (Aus) and the 4-year-old gelding Seventies Hit (Aus) (Your Song {Aus}), a maiden winner at Beaudesert in Queensland Dec. 30.

A half-sister to Listed Rockingham S. winner multiple Group 2-placed Bannock (Ire) (Bertolini) and Australian stakes winner Moulin (Aus) (Reset {Aus}), Raheights has not produced a foal since Seventies Hit and was most recently covered by Home Affairs (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) last Nov. 7. Voyage Bubble's third dam produced Canadian Horse of the Year Never Retreat (Smart Strike).

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
STEWARDS' CUP-G1, HK$13,000,000, Sha Tin, 1-21, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:33.97, gd.
1–VOYAGE BUBBLE (AUS), 126, g, 5, by Deep Field (Aus)
1st Dam: Raheights (Aus), by Rahy
2nd Dam: Laoub, by Red Ransom
3rd Dam: Lisieux, by Steady Growth
1ST GROUP WIN, 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (A$380,000 Ylg '20 INGFEB). O-Sunshine and Moonlight Syndicate; B-Torryburn Stud (NSW); T-Ricky Yiu; J-James McDonald; HK$7,280,000. Lifetime Record: 15-6-4-2, HK$41,052,975. *1/2 to Diddums (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), GSW-Aus, $164,688. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Beauty Eternal (Aus), 126, g, 5, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Ithacan Queen (NZ), by Savabeel (Aus). (A$90,000 Ylg '20 INGFEB). O-Patrick Kwok Ho Chuen; B-P Raftopoulos (Vic); T-John Size; J-Zac Purton; HK$2,730,000.
3–Beauty Joy (Aus), 126, g, 7, Sebring (Aus)–Impressive Jeuney (Aus), by Jeune (GB). O-Eleanor Kwok Lai Kwan Chun & Patrick Kwok Ho Chuen; B-Impressive Racing Pty Ltd (WA); T-Tony Cruz; J-Derek Leung; HK$1,495,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1, 1 1/4. Odds: 9-10, 23-10, 11-1.
Also Ran: California Spangle (Ire), Fantastic Treasure, Straight Arron (Aus), Russian Emperor (Ire), Healthy Happy (Aus). Click for the HKJC chart, PPs and sectional timing.

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