Romantic Warrior had already sealed his place as a Hong Kong racing immortal with a stunning triumph in the G1 Jebel Hatta (1800m) at Dubai's Meydan Racecourse on 25 January, smashing the track record with an extraordinary performance for trainer Danny Shum and jockey James McDonald. Romantic Warrior then delivered another phenomenal effort on 23 February in the Saudi Cup (1800m, dirt) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he narrowly missed out on first place to Japan’s Forever Young in the last 50m.

After two races in the Middle East, Romantic Warrior improved his record to 18 wins from 24 starts, equalling Golden Sixty’s record of 10 Group 1 wins.

Purchased by Peter Lau for HK$4.8 million at the 2021 Hong Kong International Sale, Romantic Warrior collected US$3.5 million (approx. HK$27.36 million) for his second place finish in the Saudi Cup, adding to his record earnings that now total HK$207.04 million (approx. US$26.5 million).

McDonald, who also partnered the Acclamation gelding to wins in the 2023 G1 W. S. Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley and the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) at Tokyo Racecourse as well as eight other elite victories, commented on his confidence in the champion racehorse.

“He jumps fast, he travels well and I never felt in doubt at all,” McDonald said after the G1 Jebel Hatta in Dubai.

“He adapts to anything. You could put him on a saucepan and he would run well – any pace, any distance would suit him fine.”

Romantic Warrior next ships to Meydan for the US$6 million (approx. HK$46.62 million) Dubai Turf on 5 April on Dubai World Cup Night – the third and final stop on his Middle East campaign.

Read: How Danny Shum became the celebrated trainer of racing legend Romantic Warrior

For 140 years, Hong Kong’s world-class racing has brought pride and joy to Hongkongers - not just on local racecourses, but also on the international stage through victories like this. This is what makes good possible in our beautiful city – then, now and always.

Original article by Leo Schlink in Dubai, Declan Schuster in Riyadh