ZAC PURTON TO RIDE VOYAGE BUBBLE IN YASUDA KINEN AS RICKY YIU GIVES JAPAN TRIP GREEN LIGHT

Trainer calls upon the services of the six-time champ in a potential clash with Romantic Warrior: 'He looks better day after day'

Zac Purton will partner Voyage Bubble in the Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m) on June 2, with Ricky Yiu Poon-fai confirming it's all systems go towards the audacious overseas mission at Tokyo racecourse.

Making his first visit to Japan in seven years, Purton is set to reunite with Voyage Bubble after Yiu's stable star finished a gallant third in the Group One Champions Mile.

Yiu and Purton are no strangers to experiencing elite-level success in the Land of the Rising Sun and the six-time champion jockey, who took out the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) aboard the Tony Cruz-trained Aerovelocity in 2015, is looking forward to the challenge.

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"Anytime we get to go over there we enjoy it so I'm looking forward to going back," Purton said. "Voyage Bubble would have had a little bit more time to get over his run in Dubai so I think the timing of the race should suit him well."

A runner-up behind Golden Sixty in December's Group One Hong Kong Mile under James McDonald, Voyage Bubble broke through at the top level with a commanding win over Beauty Eternal in January's Group One Stewards' Cup (1,600m).

The five-year-old was then narrowly denied under Purton in the Group One Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m), with the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained Romantic Warrior prevailing by a neck in a thriller.

Yiu opted to send his stable star to Meydan in March for the Group One Dubai Turf (2,000m) under Frenchman Mickael Barzalona, but Voyage Bubble endured a luckless run from gate one and failed to fire back in 13th.

"When they first come back from Dubai, the Champions meeting comes up a little bit quick for them and sometimes they're not at their best," Purton said after Voyage Bubble finished third in the Champions Mile. "But, having a little bit more time will suit him."

Purton will aim to make it third time lucky in the Yasuda Kinen after he finished ninth on Fellowship in 2010 and sixth on Beauty Only on his latest trip to Japan in 2017.

He has returned 19 wins from 107 runners in the country and may have to get past Romantic Warrior to add to his tally, with Shum and connections making their final decision on his stable star's participation in the coming days.

The Group One mile contest, worth around HK$19.7 million, is one of three options available for Romantic Warrior. The Group One Takarazuka Kinen (2,200m) three weeks later or a break are also possibilities.

James McDonald has been a constant force in the saddle of both Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble this term, but after the Kiwi pledged his allegiance to Shum's superstar two weeks ago, Yiu locked in the services of Purton.

Yiu heads to Japan bidding for a second success in the country after he triumphed with Ultra Fantasy in the Group One Sprinters Stakes in 2010. The 66-year-old remains optimistic about Voyage Bubble's chances and believes his galloper continues to improve ahead of the trip.

"He's very good and he looks better day after day," Yiu said. "His attitude and willingness just keep getting better.

"He's an intelligent horse and I don't see going left-handed making much of a difference to him, but we don't want to be drawn one again."