Voyage Bubble and Sunlight Power Cleared for Champions Mile at Sha Tin

Voyage Bubble and Sunlight Power have both been cleared to run in Sunday's Group One Champions Mile at Sha Tin subject to a final inspection, and Ricky Yiu Poon-fai is confident they will put in peak performances.

Yiu is eagerly anticipating the run of Voyage Bubble with blinkers on for the first time, while Sunlight Power will benefit from a favourable draw in gate three following a series of wide barriers.

Yiu's pair were in doubt to run after pre-declaration veterinary inspections found they had each developed a capped elbow in one of their front legs.

"Head of veterinary regulation, welfare and biosecurity policy, Dr Bronte Forbes, reported on Thursday that both conditions have shown improvement and permission has been given for the horses to be declared to race," Jockey Club chief steward Marc van Gestel said in a statement. "Dr Forbes advised that a further pre-race veterinary inspection will be required on Saturday 25 April 2026, to assess both horses' suitability to start."

Yiu was pleased with Voyage Bubble's work on Thursday morning on the course proper and believes the six-time Group One winner will be on song for Sunday's test.

"It is a small issue. He's in work now on the [small] track every morning. He did his final gallop on the grass proper this morning, and Jerry Chau [Chun-lok]'s feedback that he's fine. His action is fluent," Yiu said.

While last year's Triple Crown winner has drawn barrier 12, Yiu is not concerned by the wide gate and is looking forward to seeing the seven-year-old run with blinkers on for the first time.

"I think the way he drew, that doesn't really matter for this horse – especially since we're running with the blinkers for the first time," Yiu said. "Normally he has some sort of speed up there with the pace and even with the blinkers, I think he will travel very, very typical and the draw doesn't really matter.

"I think it was about time to make a change, do something different. I put new gear on and hopefully it will put a new idea into the horse.

"You don't see much difference in this horse until on the race day, until you see a bit more in his finish."

Stablemate Sunlight Power is scheduled to have his final gallop on Friday morning under recent Australian arrival Ethan Brown, who will partner him in Sunday's assignment.

The six-year-old Capitalist galloper will benefit from a much kinder draw compared to recent starts and can take advantage by settling much closer to the speed.

"The last couple of runs, he had a bad draw, awful draw. He didn't get a fluent run – the draw will certainly help him this time," Yiu said. "Certainly he'll be ridden a bit closer. I would expect he'll be in the fifth or sixth position because the draw is a much better draw than the last couple of times. He'll be somewhere at least midfield."

Yiu is also thrilled to give Brown his first Group One opportunity in Hong Kong after the 11-time Group One winner secured his debut victory at his first meeting in the jurisdiction at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

"I think he'll put some good ideas into the horse and he'll be surprised. I knew Ethan back in Australia. I think he's an up-and-coming, young, good jockey and I want to give him a leg up. He had a good start on Wednesday night, so we're happy for him," Yiu said.