Ethan Brown jubilated in the best day of a burgeoning short-term Hong Kong stint with a dominant display at Sha Tin on Saturday (13 June), when the Australian posted a treble and fulfilled an ambition to ride a winner for John Size.



Brown, 26, excelled with victories on Country Dancer (125lb) in the Class 5 Shearwater Handicap (1200m) and Endued (132lb) in the Class 3 Spoonbill Handicap (1600m) for 13-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer Size and also triumphed on Prestige Hall (125lb) for David Hall in the first section of the Class 4 Swan Handicap (1400m).



“It’s unreal, it hasn’t sunk in yet. I thought I came here with a good book of rides and often, when that’s the case, you tend to go average, but today’s been great,” Brown said.



“It feels great. It took me a while to get the monkey off the back here (ride a winner at Sha Tin) but to come back the following week and knock over more, it means a lot.



“I’m getting very good support and it feels like things are starting to clear up. I’m getting the hang of the racing here and it’s probably proven that the last couple of races, but the main thing is getting on the right horses and getting the right support from the right trainers.”



Brown was especially thrilled to post his first win for Size after Country Dancer swooped late to deny Always Fluke (129lb).



“As soon as I got off the horse, I said ‘I’ve always wanted to ride a winner for you (Size)’ and I couldn’t be happier to do it for him today. It was a good feeling, very honourable,” Brown said.



With only eight meetings left in the season, Danny Shum (58 wins), Francis Lui (54), David Hayes (52) and Size (50) all edged closer to Caspar Fownes (62) and Mark Newnham (58) in the battle for the 2025/26 Hong Kong trainers’ championship.



Lui enhanced his championship hopes with a three-timer, striking with Meaningful Dragon (135lb) in the second section of the Class 4 Swan Handicap (1400m) under James Orman, Superb Spirit in the Class 4 Anser Handicap (1200m) under Zac Purton and Baby Sakura (124lb) for Vincent Ho in the Class 3 Owl Handicap (1400m).



Trailing Fownes by eight wins, Lui said: “It'll be difficult to win the premiership. Unless every day is three winners, it'll be tough. You never know - of course, I will really try my best.”



Purton was impressed with Superb Spirit.



“He obviously drew the right gate (barrier two) to get the right run… and when he let go, he let go nicely,” Purton said of the Zousain three-year-old.

Lui indicated Superb Spirit would be aimed at next season’s Four-Year-Old Classic Series.



“He's a good horse - he has a lot of potential. He's only a three-year-old and has only had a few runs, he looks like he keeps improving,” Lui said. “I think he'll have a break now. He's a four-year-old series horse. Zac said he has a lot of potential. He said if he can handle the further distance, I'm sure he has a good chance of winning more races.”



Shum also maintained hopes of a first trainers’ title when Forever Folks (134lb) resisted his rivals under Derek Leung to win the Class 4 Flamingo Handicap (1800m). Purchased at Hong Kong International Sale, the seven-year-old showcased his versatility with success on Sha Tin’s turf following victories this season on Sha Tin’s dirt and Happy Valley’s turf.



Hayes-trained Jedi Spurs (121lb) impressed with a four-and-a-half length victory in the Sunbird Plate (1000m) for Griffins, clocking 55.81s under Brenton Avdulla. By Cosmic Force, the two-year-old justified his 1.6 odds in forging to the front before accelerating strongly over the last 400m in 21.60s on yielding ground.



“He was more impressive today than the barrier trials (indicated) because Brenton gave him a little slap to learn. He's done everything so easily his in his life and to run that time, in these conditions, he might be very good. You couldn't do a better debut than that. The opposition weren't super, but the time was there and the margin he won by excites me,” Hayes said.



“He's probably got to win the next Griffin race (to be Hong Kong Champion Griffin), but if he does, it would be pretty impressive."



Soleil Fighter (124lb) slotted his first Sha Tin victory with a courageous performance to land the Class 2 Peacock Handicap (1600m) under Nichola Yuen. Allowed to dictate in front, the six-year-old boosted his earnings to HK$16.9 million from 33 starts.



Formerly known as Connemara Coast when he raced in England for Richard Hughes, Soleil Fighter won the 2024/25 DBS x Manulife Million Challenge in Class 3 races and above at Happy Valley and Hayes was delighted with the gelding’s effort to prevail at Sha Tin.



“I think Nichola did a very good job. I asked Nicola to let the horse run today and she did a very good job,” Hayes said. “This is a good horse, he's a Happy Valley champion, and now he's winning at Sha Tin - I wish I had 10 of them.”



PI Legend (117lb) earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million after a brilliant effort in the Class 3 Snipe Handicap (1200m, dirt) for Brett Crawford and Karis Teetan, while Mega Captain (127lb) broke through for his first win at this fourth start with success in the Class 4 Sand Martin Handicap (1200m, dirt) for Purton and Dennis Yip.



Hong Kong racing continues on Sunday (21 June) with the HK$4.2 million G3 Premier Cup Handicap (1400m) and the HK$4.2 million G3 Premier Plate Handicap (1800m).