Zac Purton hopes to capitalise on a potentially “vulnerable” Romantic Warrior when he seeks revenge aboard Voyage Bubble in Sunday’s Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m). Outmuscled by Romantic Warrior in February’s thrilling Group One Gold Cup (2,000m), Voyage Bubble heads to Tokyo racecourse aiming to reverse the form on Danny Shum Chap-shing’s superstar under the guidance of the six-time champion jockey. Purton is no stranger to experiencing top-level success in the Land of the Rising Sun, but the Yasuda Kinen is a contest he’s yet to crack from two attempts.
While the 41-year-old triumphed in the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) aboard Aerovelocity in 2015, in the Yasuda Kinen he has only managed sixth on the Tony Cruz-trained Beauty Only in 2017 and ninth aboard Fellowship for Paul O’Sullivan seven years earlier. Purton, who arrives in Japan on Thursday, believes Voyage Bubble has the ability and versatility required to secure him his first win in the HK$21.6 million contest.
“He’s a pretty no-nonsense horse and he takes everything in his stride,” Purton said of Voyage Bubble. “I think it’s a suitable race for him. “He’s got a good style where he can race on speed.
He likes fast-run races and we’re not guaranteed to get that, but if that’s the case he can clearly handle that. “He does a lot of things right and it’s not a vintage year. There’s no stand-out horse there at the moment, so it’s a good year to roll the dice and see ho.
