Three weeks after returning to the races, the recovering Benno Yung Tin-pang has tasted success for the first time since September thanks to the victory of Tourbillon Prince at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Yung has been battling serious illness for much of 2024, confirming on Sunday he is still undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia, and he wasn’t seen at the races for the first 11 weeks of the season.

His stable’s run of outs had stretched to 96 runners before Tourbillon Prince’s success in the Class Three Lukfook Jewellery Beloved Collection Handicap (1,400m).

“It feels very good. It’s lovely to have another winner because I’ve been waiting for a long time. I feel very good, especially after a winner,” Yung said.

While Yung is attending race meetings, he is still largely working from home and running his stable through regular phone contact with assistant trainer Roy Cheung Hon-wai.

“I’m still working from home because I can’t have too much close contact with people yet,” said Yung.

Tourbillon Prince landed his third Hong Kong success with a commanding front-running performance under Luke Ferraris.

Purton hits half-century

Zac Purton sailed past the 50-win mark with an early double at Sha Tin on Sunday, saluting aboard Triumphant More and Beauty Alliance on the first half of the card.

By moving to 51 winners from 29 meetings, Purton stretched his lead in the jockeys’ championship to 26, with Hugh Bowman a distant second on 25.

Triumphant More dictated proceedings in the Class Four Lukfook Jewellery Diapure Handicap (1,200m), leading all the way under Purton to ring up his second win at start three.

“After winning his first start at Happy Valley, he got an outside draw for his second start there [when fourth] and he jumped a bit slow,” said trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen.

“This time Zac told me to bring him to Sha Tin because the big track and long straight would be better.

“He got lucky – I thought there would be a couple of horses who would try to lead but he was just able to lead by himself and slow down the pace.”

Shum doing his homework

Danny Shum Chap-shing has wasted no time preparing for Romantic Warrior’s upcoming Middle East campaign, spending the weekend touring tracks and facilities in Dubai and Saudi Arabia ahead of the champion galloper’s flight out of Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Fresh from a record third consecutive Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) triumph, Romantic Warrior is bound for the Group One Jebel Hatta (1,800m) on turf before switching to the unknown of the dirt in the Group One Saudi Cup (1,800m).

The nine-time Group One winner will then progress to either the Group One Dubai World Cup (2,000m) on dirt or Group One Dubai Turf (1,800m).

Shum flew to Dubai early and was at the Meydan races on Friday night before attending the Riyadh race meeting on Saturday.

“I just walked around the dirt track and I watched a few races,” Shum told the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia.

“Me and the owner [Peter Lau Pak-fai] believe he is a talented horse and he should handle [the dirt]. Also the advantage he has is he can be up the front – in the first three, four or five – and still save his energy and hit the line strong.

“He’s in good form at the moment. That’s the reason he’s come here.”

Yet to race on the dirt, Romantic Warrior will kick off his audacious overseas campaign in the Jebel Hatta on January 24.

With Dubai World Cup night not until April 5, Romantic Warrior and some of Shum’s team could be away for more than four months.

Shum said the winner of a world record HK$177.3 million in prize money pulled up well from his Hong Kong Cup success.

“He’s very happy and a sound horse,” Shum said. “He travelled last year to Australia and to Japan [earlier this year].

“First, we loved the Al Maktoum Challenge but at the end of the day, we had a discussion with the owner, James McDonald and myself,” Shum told the Dubai Racing Club.

“We’d love to run him on the turf. That means [his first run will be in] the Jebel Hatta on the 24th of January, so this is the plan.

“Hopefully, he’ll run in this race and then the next race, we’ll go to Saudi Arabia for the Saudi Cup, then he’ll come back to Dubai for the 5th of April and run in either the Dubai World Cup or Dubai Turf.”