My Wish remains on course for a tilt at the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) in December after sweeping to an emphatic victory in the HK$4.2 million G3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (28 September).

Held up in the straight as jockey Luke Ferraris searched for clear running, My Wish (130lb) eventually weaved between runner-up Copartner Prance (134lb) and Pray For Mir (128lb) and powered to a length and a quarter margin in 1m 20.79s. Happy Together (135lb) finished strongly for third, a short head further away.

Winner of the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and second in the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) last season, My Wish enhanced his overall record to five wins and five minor placings from 12 starts and prizemoney of HK$22.7 million.

Ferraris believes My Wish is untapped.

“The sky is the limit with him and whatever we throw at him, he takes and does better so it’s really exciting going forward,” the South African said.

“(Last season) he’s finished a length behind Voyage Bubble and it probably wasn’t his best performance when beaten by Red Lion at the end of last ‘prep’ – which was a tough ‘prep’ – but with a freshen up and now that he’s filled out a bit, I don’t know where the ceiling is.”

Settling fourth behind the leaders, My Wish was poised to strike as the field entered the home straight but initially had nowhere to go.

“It just seemed like nothing was moving and then half a gap opened – and he’s as gutsy as ever – and I put him in it and he did the rest. He got me out of trouble,” Ferraris said.

Newnham said: “He’s a really good, tenacious little horse. He certainly showed today that he’s made improvement from last season and he’s going to be a force the rest of the season. It was actually one of the last things I said to Luke. I said ‘just trust the horse – you know when you need him, he’ll be there’.

“It did look a little complicated there for a few strides but once he got the gap, he put them away quite well. He’ll have the Group 2 miles – one next month (G2 Sha Tin Trophy Handicap) and one in November (G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile) – leading into December.”

“It’s a good way to start the season but we’ve still got the A-graders to come yet, so he’s got to improve a little bit more. But I think it’s there.”

Newnham also struck with Lucky Sam Gor (121lb), who was given a patient ride by Jerry Chau in landing the Class 4 Tailorbird Handicap (1400m).

Brett Crawford broke through in spectacular fashion for his first Hong Kong wins, slotting a double when Speedy Smartie (129lb) triumphed in the Class 5 Tropicbird (1200m, dirt) and Ninja Derby (123lb) prevailed in the Class 5 Woodpecker Handicap (1600m).

Fittingly, Crawford shared the milestone success with Karis Teetan (Speedy Success) and Lyle Hewitson (Ninja Derby), both of whom had forged strong links with Crawford in South Africa.

“It’s amazing, he’s (Crawford) been a great help to my career. When I was in South Africa, he gave me a chance to put my name up there when I was back in Cape Town and he trusted me and put me on a lot of good horses,” Teetan said.

“Hong Kong is a different place and I’ve been here for so long now and I just let Brett know that you just have to keep your head up and persist.”

Crawford, 54, saddled more than 1,400 winners in South Africa, landing many of the country’s major races.

He said: “Amazing day. I couldn’t be happier. I’m obviously very pleased. We’ve had a few horses run really good races so far. As long as we can keep horses running to their form – it’s nice to see a horse like this first run second and then build on that – that’s the goal for us.

“Obviously, we (Crawford and Teetan) go back a long time and I think it was over 12 years ago when he had a winner for me, so it’s a fantastic feeling. He’s put in a lot of work and he’s helped me a lot, so for me it’s like a milestone to see him back in the saddle and winning for me. A big thanks to him and his family.”

Reflecting on Ninja Derby’s performance, Crawford said: “Obviously from gate 14 it was a bit of a concern but I must give full credit to Lyle. I thought he rode an absolutely perfect race and gave the horse every chance.”

Tomodachi Kokoroe (123lb) blasted to victory in the Class 2 Magpie Handicap (1200m), setting a Class record of 1m 07.79s in the process while easing to a two-length win for David Hayes and Harry Bentley.

Covering the final 800m in 43.93s, the Written Tycoon gelding eclipsed Thanks Forever’s Class record gallop of 1m 07.89, set in 2019, prompting Hayes to compare the effort to course record-holder Ka Ying Rising (1m 07.20s).

“This season, he’s given me the feeling that he’s really improved and can win in Class 1 now,” Hayes said. “That time and with the ease he won, is very impressive – that’s Ka Ying (Rising) time. He’ll keep going up in rating. He’s a good horse.”

Jimmy Ting and Keith Yeung combined for their first wins of the campaign when Flowing Riches (127lb) edged to victory in the Class 4 Parrot Handicap (1000m) before Zac Purton snapped a rare 40-ride run of outs when Frankie Lor’s Fun N Fun Together (135lb) scrambled to victory in the Class 4 Swallow Handicap (1200, dirt).

The eight-time Hong Kong champion sealed a race-to-race double when Packing Phoenix (128lb) scored on debut in the Class 4 Shrike Handicap (1200m) for Francis Lui and completed a treble on Ting’s Little Paradise (125lb) in the Class 3 Cuckoo Handicap (1200m).

James Orman and Me Tsui also notched their first wins when Pope Cody (125lb) clinched the Class 3 Mesia Handicap (1600m) and earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million.

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Wednesday (1 October) with the National Day Raceday.