Voyage Bubble may get his best chance to topple the mighty Romantic Warrior in Sunday’s Group Two BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2,000m), with trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai confirming his star’s first-up 12th was a complete forgive run.

After being asked to work early under top weight and finding trouble in the run, Voyage Bubble never looked comfortable and faded in the straight.

“You can just forget about his run with Matthew Poon [Ming-fai] on him. It was rough, very rough,” said Yiu.

“Since then I have given him a trial with Zac [Purton] on him and Zac was happy. He had a good gallop on Tuesday at Sha Tin and the feedback from the jockey was positive.”

It is Purton who has ridden Voyage Bubble in his two previous clashes with Romantic Warrior – last year’s Group One Gold Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin and Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m) in Tokyo – and the eight-time champion jockey jumps back aboard this weekend.

Voyage Bubble got within a neck of Romantic Warrior in that Gold Cup and Sunday’s race will decide whether Yiu pushes onto the Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) at next month’s Longines Hong Kong International Races or considers a step back in trip for the Group One Hong Kong Mile.

Working most in Voyage Bubble’s favour this weekend is the fact Romantic Warrior races for the first time since April after undergoing fetlock surgery.

Yiu is hoping race fitness will give Voyage Bubble an edge and he’s itching to watch his Triple Crown hero test himself against the highest-earning racehorse of all time.

“I’m looking forward to seeing these two horses run against each other again,” said the veteran trainer.

“My horse is perfectly fine and he’s had three trials and a run, so he should be ready.”

Voyage Bubble (gate four) and Romantic Warrior (two under James McDonald) both have inside draws and should settle just off the speed in the nine-horse field, with Sword Point and Ka Ying Generation expected to go forward.

Ensued, Straight Arron, Beauty Joy, Bundle Award and La City Blanche complete the line-up.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Yiu saddles up Sunlight Power in the Group Two BOCHK Jockey Club Mile.

A solid fourth behind Encountered in the Group Three Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1,800m) earlier this month, Sunlight Power will again be ridden by Hollie Doyle.

Yiu is hoping the step back in trip will be suitable for Sunlight Power, however gate 13 means the six-year-old will have his work cut out in a field featuring the white-hot My Wish.

“I thought the speed over a mile would be more suitable for my horse than over 1,800m, because they go quicker,” he said.

“He’s a horse who needs to travel somewhere in midfield and last start he travelled too far back. He’s not as keen as before when he travels – he used to pull and get his head up, but he’s more relaxed now.”