Zac Purton believes Voyage Bubble will need to match his gargantuan effort in landing the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) in December if he is to succeed in defending his G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) title when he goes up against Romantic Warrior on Sunday (25 January).

The son of Deep Field was forced to dig deep to overcome a determined Soul Rush in December’s renewal of the HK$36 million mile test; when the Japanese raider inched past Ricky Yiu’s charge in the home straight, Voyage Bubble found extra to retain his Mile crown. It was a rousing effort, and one that the seven-year-old will need to replicate if he is to stand a chance against Danny Shum’s global superstar.

“I think everyone thought he was beaten at the 100m,” Purton recalled. “Soul Rush had a tough run. He was wide, he worked, and he just peaked on his run, allowing our horse to build a little bit of confidence, and Voyage Bubble finished it off strongly. It was a good win.”

The Triple Crown series of races comprises Sunday’s HK$13 million Stewards’ Cup, the HK$13 million G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) on 1 March and the HK$13 million G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) on 24 May. Voyage Bubble became only the second horse after the legendary River Verdon (1993/94) to complete the Triple Crown during the 2024/25 season.

With connections of both horses opting to focus on a domestic campaign this term, the battle for the Triple Crown is set to be one of the most enthralling stories of the Hong Kong season.

Romantic Warrior is the highest-earning racehorse in history, with HK$240.1 million in prize money banked across five seasons, in which he has claimed 11 Group 1 victories. Shum’s phenomenon hasn’t lost a Group 1 on home soil since going down by a neck to Russian Emperor in the 2023 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup.

A successful defence of his Triple Crown is a tall order for Yiu’s stable star. One factor thought to be in Voyage Bubble’s favour ahead of Sunday’s clash, however, is his well-earned reputation as one of the world’s leading mile specialists, a distance Romantic Warrior hasn’t campaigned at since winning the 2024 G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m). But Purton was reluctant to pin too much hope on Romantic Warrior not handling the mile on Sunday.

“Generally, I would agree (Voyage Bubble has an advantage as a mile specialist),” Purton said. “But Romantic Warrior’s got so much natural speed that he could put himself anywhere. If he was going to a 1200-metre race, he’d still lay up and be competitive, and maybe even win it. He’s an amazing horse. He’s clearly a better horse than us. So we need to find a way to beat him.”

James McDonald, who will pair up with the Acclamation gelding for the 17th time on Sunday, is “buzzing” to be reuniting with the eight-year-old, but isn’t taking anything for granted as he seeks a 14th win for the partnership.

“I’m looking forward to the big clash,” he said. “It’s a pretty competitive race with Galaxy Patch and My Wish, they’re all very good horses. Red Lion is a very good horse as well. It’s going to be no pushover. But you can’t have a better partner than Romantic (Warrior) to go to war with.”

As for the suggestion that the drop back to a mile could affect Romantic Warrior’s chance of claiming a first Stewards’ Cup win, McDonald was bullish in his rebuttal.

“It’s back in trip a little bit, but he’s got so much pace, it’s not funny. He’s such a star racehorse and he’ll give his best each and every time,” he added.

“It doesn’t matter what distance, it doesn’t matter what surface, Romantic’s a champion, and he’ll get the job done.”

Sunday’s (25 January) 11-race Sha Tin meeting starts with the Class 4 Peniaphobia Handicap (1000m) at 12.30pm.