It's a weekend embarrassment of riches for Hong Kong's dedicated horse racing fans with two group 1 events, each with a star contender, on the Feb. 23 program at Sha Tin Racecourse just a day after Romantic Warrior makes his bold bid for the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Romantic Warrior faces a new challenge in his first race on dirt against some world-class dirt runners. On the other hand, the stay-at-home stars are simply looking to continue their dominance over local rivals in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) and the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (G1).
Voyage Bubble looks solid against nine foes in the Gold Cup at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). The 6-year-old has reeled off back-to-back wins in the Stewards' Cup (G1) and the Hong Kong Mile (G1) and sees familiar foes in this starting gate.
"He is doing well," said trainer Ricky Yiu. "He had one good gallop on the grass proper before his (Feb. 13) trial. His trial was also good and he showed something again in that trial. He's held his form really well. I couldn't fault him."
James McDonald will hop off Romantic Warrior after the Saudi Cup, hop on a plane, and hop on Voyage Bubble for the Gold Cup. His regular assignments on the two helped boost him to Longines World's Best Jockey award for 2024.
Ka Ying Rising, California Spangle Lead Jubilee Cup
In the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, a 1,400-meter (about seven-furlong) sprint, Ka Ying Rising seeks to extend his undefeated string this season, which includes victories in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1) and the Centenary Sprint Cup (G1). He will, however, be asked to add 100 meters to his previous longest effort.
"He's a horse that can handle all the pressure that you can put on him, so 1,400 meters is going to be a small question mark," said jockey Karis Teetan, who takes over the reins for Zac Purton, who is sitting out an injury. "But I think he's going to be fine.
"I'm just looking forward to going out to ride him. He's got a lot of natural speed and he led last time, so from that draw (post 9) he's just going to use his natural speed and get into a position where he's comfortable."
Ka Ying Rising has seen off most of his Jubilee Cup rivals in earlier races but particular attention will be on California Spangle. While he has been off form for much of the season, trainer Tony Cruz says he has seen improvement, including victory in a 1,200-meter barrier trial Feb. 7.
California Spangle won this race last year and went on to capture the Al Quoz Sprint (G1T) on Dubai World Cup night in the United Arab Emirates. Cruz said a good showing could convince him to put the 7-year-old on a plane back to Dubai.
"You saw the barrier trial. He's back in business," Cruz said. "The trial was good and the jockey was very happy with him. His condition compared to last season is not as good, so we'll make a decision after the race on Sunday. Let's see the outcome before we decide on Dubai."
