Old friends Alexis Badel and Healthy Happy reunited for the first time since January 2022 at Sha Tin on Sunday to win the Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m) and snap their respective losing streaks.

Badel took the initiative aboard Healthy Happy out of the barriers and ensured this season’s opening Group race would have a pedestrian tempo – the Frankie Lor Fu-chuen-prepared leader covered the first 600m more than one and a quarter seconds slower than standard.

The 2021 Classic Cup-winning combination upped the pace in the middle stages of this year’s six-runner Celebration Cup, and they fought off a trio of Tony Cruz-trained gallopers – Circuit Stellar (second), The Golden Scenery (third) and Beauty Joy (fourth) – to prevail by one and a quarter lengths.

The Celebration Cup was Badel’s third victory from eight rides on Healthy Happy, but it was the French jockey’s first win this season at his 23rd attempt. Later on the card, Badel and Lor completed doubles when Happy Together took out the Class Three HKU Faculties of Arts and Education Handicap (1,600m).

“It was a lovely run, and he’s a lovely horse,” Badel said. “He likes to go forward and take the pace. He flew from the machine, so I was left alone very easily, then I increased the pace a little bit.

“He’s very good early in the season using these tactics. Entering the home straight, he gave me a nice kick. He showed good stamina to resist them.

“He’s been a lovely horse to me. I won a Classic Cup on him – one of my greatest memories in Hong Kong. It’s always difficult to win races, and big races are even harder to win. He keeps trying very hard. He’s an honest horse, and he’s been great to me.”

Healthy Happy won two of his five pre-import races in Australia and three of his first 10 starts in Hong Kong, but he suffered 15 consecutive losses following his Group Three Chinese Club Challenge Cup (1,400m) triumph under Badel on New Year’s Day in 2022 before they teamed up to win this term’s Celebration Cup.

“I’m very happy because this horse has gone a long time without winning,” Lor said. “First up is always best for him. Last season, he was beaten by a good horse, California Spangle, in this race first up.

“This season, also first up, he won. Someone asked me, ‘Why has it taken you so long to get Alexis to ride this horse?’. I told them, ‘I always ask him, but he’s busy!’. Alexis controlled the pace well.”

Last term, Healthy Happy’s second-up assignment was the Class One Panasonic Cup (1,400m) seven weeks after his Celebration Cup second to subsequent Group One Hong Kong Mile champion California Spangle.

This term, Healthy Happy’s post-Celebration Cup mark is likely to exclude him from the 110-85-rated Panasonic Cup on November 11, which is problematic because Lor believes 1,400m is his galloper’s optimum trip.

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“There aren’t many 1,400m races for horses with high ratings, so I’m looking at 1,600m races,” said Lor, who knows the programme like the back of his hand.

“The Sha Tin Trophy on October 15 may be too close for him. Maybe I’ll give him more time because more time is better for him. The Jockey Club Mile on November 19 may be his next start. That would give him more time to rest and return fresher.”

Only two and a half lengths covered the first five home in the Celebration Cup, but hat-trick scorer Encountered’s bid for his fourth win in a row went awry. Manfred Man Ka-leung’s galloper faded to finish 10 and a half lengths behind Healthy Happy.