Owner Yue Yun-hing had South American-bred runners in three consecutive Hong Kong Derbies from 2019 to 2021, each finishing closer than the last. Now he has another Brazilian Derby winner, Bravefield, being prepared for next year's Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
Harmony Victory finished eighth in 2019, Butterfield sixth a year later and Panfield third in 2021. None won the Derby, but the latter two went on to Group race success.
Butterfield, trained by Danny Shum Chap-shing, won the 2021 Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup over 2,400 meters, while Panfield went a step further under Tony Millard, winning that year's Group 1 Champions & Chater Cup before being crowned Hong Kong's Champion Stayer. He also won the Group 2 Sha Tin Trophy later that year.
Just like Butterfield, Bravefield won Brazil's Group 1 Derby Paulista before making his way to Hong Kong to join Danny Shum Chap-shing's stable.
Butterfield won the 2018 edition when known as Halston, while Bravefield, formerly Havana Cigar, took last year's renewal by 6¼ lengths before finishing third in Argentina's prestigious Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini.
Yue's horses are not the only South American imports to have enjoyed success in Hong Kong, as Argentine-bred La City Blanche showed when winning the 2024 Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup before finishing third in the Group 1 Champions & Chater Cup.
South American-breds have also become a more common sight in Hong Kong racing, rising from just eight making their local debuts in the 10 seasons to 2015/16 to 43 in the following decade, including 28 from Brazil.
Across those 20 seasons, 58 locally based horses bred in Argentina, Brazil and Chile recorded 66 wins from 1,085 starts, including four at Group level, three of them over 2,400 meters.
Bravefield is still seeking his first Hong Kong win after finishing 11th over 1,400 meters on debut before improving to fifth over 1,600 meters, and the 84-rated four-year-old now makes his first appearance at Happy Valley under Zac Purton in Wednesday's Class 2 Lung Cheung Handicap over 1,650 meters as he looks to strengthen his claims for the Classic Series.
