NEWNHAM LOOKING TO MAINTAIN HIS MOMENTUM AND BUILD ON HIS ALREADY OUTSTANDING SEASON

By Darren Winningham | Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Mark Newnham’s rise in Hong Kong has been anything but gradual … it has been a structured transition, a statement, the season where potential turned into success.

In just a short-period, Newnham has delivered two Group 1 victories … My Wish in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (2025) and, only a month ago, Invincible Ibis in the Hong Kong Derby … that reshaped his position since arrival in Hong Kong.

Those wins did not just put him on the map, they confirmed his massive capability as the current Hong Kong Jockey Clubs Trainer’s Championship demonstrates where Newnham is in an arm-wrestle for the top trainer position with Casper Fownes.

For Mark Newnham, these two horses represent the shape of his Hong Kong rise … one breakthrough star – with great potential … and one emerging powerhouse, who may just forge on and make his mark in Hong Kong.

Both now converge on the same stage ... the HK$24 million FWD Champions Mile ... giving Newnham a rare and formidable two-horse assault on one of Hong Kong’s premier races.

Newnham made it clear that he wants to carefully manage the success of his latest stable star, Invincible Ibis saying, “I just don’t think (he should be) taking on Romantic Warrior and a few of the internationals at 2000 metres. I don’t think he’s seasoned enough for that yet.

“He’s beating horses of his own age group, so I don’t think we need to throw him to the wolves just yet ... horses can have a long career here, so there’s no need to be testing him too much beyond his limits.”

My Wish, the horse who continues to show flashes of brilliance, may finally step into the limelight. He just finds trouble in his races – he has the most unleashed potential of any horse in Hong Kong. For a horse who continues to balance on the edge of success, the FWD Mile becomes the perfect stage to show he belongs with the elite champions of Hong Kong.

Newnham no longer is seen as a hopeful outsider anymore. He arrives at FWD Champions Day a trainer in-form, with horses in form, ready to take on Voyage Bubble and the international stars like Jantar Mantar and Strauss from Japan.

The FWD Champions Mile will not just test his horses — it will measure how far Newnham’s Hong Kong rise has truly come.

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