Red Lion stuns Voyage Bubble in Hong Kong Champions Mile upset

Red Lion turned the HK$24 million FWD Champions Mile into a shock that will linger through Hong Kong’s mile division. The six-year-old Belardo gelding, sent away at 89/1, held off heavy favorite Voyage Bubble by a short head at Sha Tin on Sunday, 27 April 2025, with Hugh Bowman steering the upset from gate 12 and stopping the clock in 1:33.21.

The victory was Red Lion’s first at Group 1 level and his first win over 1,600 meters in 29 starts. It also made him the longest-priced winner in the history of the race, a remarkable outcome for a horse who had finished second in the same event a year earlier. For trainer John Size and owners Ronald Arculli and Johanna Arculli, the race delivered the kind of return that barely seemed possible when the gate opened and Red Lion took control of the pace.

The finish was so tight that the result did not settle immediately. James McDonald, aboard Voyage Bubble, lodged a protest over possible interference in the closing stages, and stewards held the weighed-in declaration while they reviewed the run. When the decision finally stood, Red Lion had preserved one of the most unlikely results in the Champions Mile’s history. Bowman said he was “lost for words” after guiding home the horse that many had dismissed before the start.

The result matters well beyond one race. Voyage Bubble entered as a four-time Hong Kong Group 1 winner and a Triple Crown hopeful, with earlier victories in the Stewards’ Cup and Gold Cup already marking him as one of the most accomplished runners in the territory. He was also chasing a stronger case for Hong Kong Horse of the Year. Instead, he was edged in a finish that showed how fragile even the strongest local dominance can look when a longshot gets the trip, the rail position and the run of the race.

Red Lion’s upset does not erase Voyage Bubble’s standing, but it does puncture the certainty around him. In a division built around star power, this was the kind of head-bob loss that changes the conversation: Hong Kong’s mile scene is still anchored by Voyage Bubble, yet Sunday made clear that his aura is no longer untouchable.