Hong Kong's group 1 season winds up May 25 at Sha Tin Racecourse with the Champions & Chater Cup (G1) with one well-qualified international visitor set to take on a group of locals featuring four-time group 1 winner Voyage Bubble.
In some ways, the finale of the season-long series of international races is a bit of a letdown, with less firepower than December's four-race extravaganza or the three group 1s of April's Champions Day. That's in part because the 2,400-meter (about 1 1/2-mile) distance of the Champions & Chater is not a popular one in Hong Kong and local runners don't point for it.
Foreign participation can be limited by the increasing early-season role of Saudi Arabia and Dubai on the global schedule and the need to prepare for summer campaigns in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.
Case in point: One of Hong Kong's two top horses, Romantic Warrior, will be on the track Sunday but only in a "welcome home" ceremony after his tour of the Middle East that produced a victory in the Jebel Hatta (G1T) in Dubai and agonizing seconds in the Saudi Cup (G1) and Dubai Turf (G1T).
The other local superstar, Ka Ying Rising, doesn't have a worthy sprint target remaining this season and is pointing for Australia's The Everest (G1) in October.
That doesn't mean the Champions & Chater Cup is devoid of stars in its own right with top-shelf British visitor Dubai Honour taking on the likes of Hong Kong's Voyage Bubble and Hong Kong Derby winner Cap Ferrat.
Voyage Bubble enters with a 2024-25 season record of four wins, three in group 1 events, and two seconds from six starts. All but one of those came at a straight mile but the 6-year-old gelding proved a bit of stamina with a 3 3/4-length victory in the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) Feb. 23 despite a midrace stumble.
He also won the 2023 Hong Kong Derby at the same distance.
"He's going really well," trainer Ricky Yiu said of Voyage Bubble. "He hasn't put a foot wrong. The closer to the race and the more I look at this horse, I think he can absolutely handle the trip. Compared to last year or when he won the Derby over 2,000 meters, he's so relaxed now.
"We're only talking about 400 meters more in a small field with a jockey (James McDonald) who knows him well. He'll be a really good chance."
Cap Ferrat enters off a fifth-place finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) April 27, his only start since the Derby win.
"He's good. It's just the distance. We don't know," trainer Francis Lui said of Cap Ferrat. "I think he can handle it. He ran well last start but he used a little bit more energy because the draw (8) wasn’t ideal. It's easier for the European horses to handle the distance."
The overseas visitor, Dubai Honour, is trained by William Haggas and has raced in England, Germany, France, and Dubai. His last two starts were in Australia, where he won the Tancred Stakes (G1) April 1 at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse and finished second to Via Sistina in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Randwick Racecourse.
The 7-year-old is no stranger to Sha Tin, either, having raced at the New Territories track four times previously, winless for the effort but second in his last stop in the Hong Kong Vase (G1) in December.
