Christophe Aims For A Second Hong Kong Derby Trophy

Multiple French champion jockey Christophe Soumillon has some seriously big race commitments over the next three weeks.

The 43 year old will partner South African speed star Isivunguvungu in the Gr1 Al Quoz Sprint at the Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan on 5 April, but in the short term he will bid to partner Noisy Boy to win the BMW Hong Kong Derby on Sunday, for the second time.

It’s been a while between drinks for the Belgian-born rider, who last won the richly endowed Derby aboard Viva Pataca all the way back in 2006.

As we went to print, a lost passport threatened to sabotage his trip, but if the top jock’s local Home Affairs office are half as efficient as many of ours have become, he should be at Sha Tin for the 148^th renewal of the HK$26 million contest on Sunday.

Soumillon was in South Africa with his wife Sophie in January 2023 and entertained local racing fans with his velvet-smooth saddle-craft, riding a treble at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, that included a maiden SA Grade 1 winner for his old boss and friend, Mike de Kock. Desert Miracle beat ill-fated SA Horse Of The Year Captain’s Ransom in that memorable renewal of the prestigious Majorca Stakes.

Trainer Dennis Yip Chor-hong has engaged Soumillon to ride Noisy Boy on Sunday.

The 2024 BMW Hong Kong Derby-winning trainer – courtesy of Massive Sovereign – Yip is holding faith in Noisy Boy’s ability and stamina to bounce back after the Real Steel gelding’s slightly disappointing thirteenth behind Rubylot in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, the second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series last month.

Noisy Boy is the only course and distance winner in the 2025 Derby field, beating Winning Dragon over 2000m two starts back. Winning Dragon went on the finish fourth in the Gr1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup to frank the form.

Yip explained Noisy Boy’s last start defeat: “He was the victim of circumstance. My instruction was to ask the jockey to settle the horse in third or fourth position, or to take a soft lead if the pace was too slow. However, the jockey reported that after he jumped out quick, he couldn’t cut across and had to make some use of the horses in the early stages and the horse was on the bridle to take the lead. His first three sectionals (13.82s, 21.69s and 23.85s) were a bit too quick for him.”

He went on to say that with some on-pace runners like Beauty Alliance in the field on Sunday, Noisy Boy can follow the leaders comfortably this time and as long as he can relax in the early stages, he should be very competitive as he reportedly is a very fit horse.

Having finished second in the Gr2 Tulloch Stakes and eighth in the Gr1 Australian Derby in Australia pre-import, Noisy Boy won twice in Hong Kong from just five starts, breaking his local maiden over 2200m at Happy Valley before winning at the Derby trip in January.

Yip said: “Christophe has plenty of experiences in riding big races and he is also the one who will give you a detailed post-race report. I don’t have too much concern on the draw but of course anything from draw one to six will be ideal.”

Noisy Boy clocked 52.4s (28.9s and 23.5s) over 800m on turf on Monday , pleasing his trainer.

First run in 1873, the BMW Hong Kong Derby is restricted to 4yo’s and is run over 2000m. Past winners of the coveted crown include River Verdon (1991), Oriental Express (1997), Vengeance Of Rain (2005), Viva Pataca (2006), Ambitious Dragon (2011), Designs On Rome (2014), Werther (2016), Rapper Dragon (2017), Golden Sixty (2020), Romantic Warrior (2022) and Voyage Bubble (2023).

Joining the winners of the first two legs of the HK$52 million Four-Year-Old Classic Series – My Wish and Rubylot – is a cavalcade of stars bringing form references from many corners of the globe.

Besides Christophe Soumillon, other international jockeys jetting in for the big day are Joao Moreira, Ryan Moore, Craig Williams and William Buick.

Hailing from a racing background, Soumillon is the son of jump jockey Jean-Marc Soumillon. He rode in pony races and left Belgium at fifteen to attend the racing school in Chantilly, France, where he was apprenticed to trainer Cédric Boutin.

He rode his first Group race winner at eighteen when Berine’s Son, trained by André Fabre, won the 2000 Prix de Fontainebleau. The following season he won four Gr1 races, including the Prix du Jockey Club on Anabaa.

Soumillon won the cravache d’or – the golden whip or French champion jockey title – for the first time in 2003 and won his tenth title in 2018.

Although a flat jockey, he has also ridden over hurdles, winning the 2010 French Champion Hurdle on Mandali.

Soumillon’s ambition remains to win the Epsom Derby.

“I have ridden many big races in my life and the Kentucky Derby was one which was amazing. For me the Epsom Derby is the toughest race I have ridden in and I have enough experience now to understand how it works – you need a champion horse to win it.We’ll see, I’m not done, there’s plenty under my belt and I’ll keep going until my head tells me stop.”

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