Romantic Warrior rewrites history with fourth Hong Kong Cup

HONG KONG – Globetrotting hero Romantic Warrior turned on the style at Sha Tin as he headed further into folklore with an unprecedented fourth straight victory in the HK$40 million (S$6.6 million) Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin on Dec 14.

It was a performance that the fans lining the rails sporting the champion’s light blue colours would have expected as James McDonald steered his mount to a convincing 1¾-length victory over Japanese runner Bellagio Opera (Kazuo Yokoyama).

Romantic Warrior has now recorded 11 Group 1 wins in four different jurisdictions. Besides Hong Kong, the son of Acclamation landed the 2023 Cox Plate (2,040m) in Australia, the 2024 Yasuda Kinen (1,600m) in Japan, and the 2025 Jebel Hatta (1,800m) in Dubai in January, all under regular rider McDonald.

Freshly crowned Longines World’s Best Jockey 2025 for the third time on Dec 12 after claiming two titles in 2022 and 2024, McDonald broke cleanly and sat just behind a steady pace set largely by Galen, whose rider Dylan Browne McMonagle sought to get first run on the field as the group of seven turned into the home straight.

$5.30 favourite Romantic Warrior, though, was travelling well within himself. With 400m remaining, the seven-year-old gelding was in front and never looked to be passed despite the late challenge by Bellagio Opera. French raider Quisisana (Christophe Soumillon) sneaked in late for third.

Winning trainer Danny Shum took a brief moment to write down the final result in his racebook before he was descended upon by well-wishers.

“I’m very proud of Romantic Warrior and our team. They work really hard,” said Shum. “It’s a big relief. He always gives me a lot of happiness, not only me but my stable, owners, my family, and both racing fans and non-racing fans, they all love Romantic Warrior.

“To be honest, there was a lot of pressure. He had his surgery (when a screw was inserted in his left front leg at the end of May), but he is such a good, calm, lovely horse. He’s part of my family, I love him. My son says I love Romantic Warrior more than him.

“He’s very easy to train. He doesn’t need too much work and his body weight will tell you, his appetite will tell you how fit he is.”

McDonald was almost lost for words after Romantic Warrior’s fourth Hong Kong Cup triumph.

“He’s so special,” said the New Zealand-born jockey. “He’s just a freak. I don’t know what to say. I just love him.”

While both inflation and the lucrative purses on offer around the globe make it likely that his position as the highest-earning racehorse of all time will be eclipsed at some point, his feat in the Hong Kong Cup will stand the test of time.

Romantic Warrior was already the only horse to have won this race three times in 2022, 2023 and 2024 since it was first staged in 1988, even before adding a fourth.

He is likely to now be geared towards another face-off with Japanese champion galloper Forever Young, who he had pushed all the way to the line before losing out by a neck in the Group 1 Saudi Cup (1,800m) earlier in February.

Shum, however, will wait for the go-ahead from Romantic Warrior’s owner, Peter Lau, before committing to plans.

“I always say, we know he’s turning eight really soon, but he doesn’t know he’s turning eight,” he said.

“This is amazing. He’s been in Australia, Japan, Dubai, second in the biggest prize money in the world in Saudi (Arabia) and also second in the (Group 1) Dubai Turf (1,800m). He’s come back and had two wins.

“The plan is always made by the owner, Peter. He has wisdom, we all trust him. If he says, ‘Danny, go to Saudi Arabia’, I’ll go to Saudi Arabia. If he says, ‘Danny, stay in Hong Kong’, I’ll stay in Hong Kong. We’re a good team, I trust Peter a lot.”

The world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising was also punted down to $5.30 favouritism in the HK$28 million Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) three races earlier, and he did not disappoint with another dominating victory.

Now a winner of 17 races from 19 starts, the David Hayes-trained five-year-old secured his sixth Group 1 victory to match the mighty Golden Sixty’s feat of posting 16 straight wins, and is now only one short of Hong Kong’s record of 17 consecutive wins held by Silent Witness.

In a powerhouse display after drawing barrier one for the first time in his career, the Shamexpress gelding produced one of his best victories with another masterful ride from Zac Purton, who steered the champion into the middle of the home straight in search of the best ground.

Ka Ying Rising surged away to beat Raging Blizzard (Brenton Avdulla) by 3¾ lengths, with Fast Network (McDonald) in third after being eased down by Purton over the closing 150m.

Purton said Ka Ying Rising travelled beautifully throughout the race, and he made sure he gave him his chance.

“His last run showed us that it was on the cards today,” he said. “He drew the right gate, and when the barrier came out, they said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said he would win by further.

“He is just in a league of his own now. And not having to do that extra work into the first corner from a wide gate to try and get forward probably helped him.”

Hayes was relieved Ka Ying Rising did not let the stable or the public down.

“He was just superb today,” he said. “The messages he was sending the week of the race suggested he’d do something like that. We are not running fast times today but he did – (run) a lot faster than the other races.

“He is a lot heavier and stronger now, so physically he is really improving and it is showing on the track.

“The great thing about him is that he doesn’t have to lead. Today, Zac wanted to take all of the risk out of it so he could get off the fence and that is another string to his bow.”

The 2025 Group 1 The Everest (1,200m) winner would be again set for Hong Kong’s Speed Series, and Hayes said it would be fun to see him stretch out to 1,400m like before.

“It will then be the big international sprint here, and then he’ll be going to The Everest (2026),” he said. “Let’s just hope he is sound and well and if he is in the form he was today, we’d love to take those Aussies on again.”

Seven-year-old Voyage Bubble ($18) may not have the same magnetic allure as Romantic Warrior and Ka Ying Rising, but the 2024 Triple Crown winner did his bit to contribute to a wonderful day at Sha Tin by fighting off the challenge from Japan’s Soul Rush again to land his second HK$36 million Group 1 Hong Kong Mile (1,600m).

His hard-fought ½-length victory over Soul Rush (Cristian Demuro) was a repeat of 2024’s Hong Kong Mile result and formed part of a memorable day for Purton, who was replacing the Ricky Yiu-trained gelding’s regular partner McDonald for the second time in succession.

Once again, it was bravery, a trademark of the Deep Field seven-year-old’s performances, that came to the fore.

“I think he just showed what type of horse he is,” said Purton. “He’s not the horse who is going to give you a ‘wow’ performance, but he’s got such a big heart that he’s always up for the fight.

“He’s in the shadow of the big two, unfortunately, but in his own right, he’s a supremely good horse. A Triple Crown winner, he’s come back today off the canvas to win.

“When we reflect back upon all the great horses that have been in Hong Kong, he’s certainly going to be remembered in the way that he should. His CV is outstanding. To come out and go back-to-back in the Hong Kong Mile, it’s not an easy thing to do.”

French-based runner Sosie ($13) saluted in the first of four international races – the HK$26 million Group 1 Hong Kong Vase – held at Sha Tin and handed legendary trainer Andre Fabre, who celebrated his 80th birthday on Dec 9, a record fourth win in the 2,400m feature.

A four-year-old colt by Sea The Stars, Sosie joins Fabre’s Borgia (1999), Flintshire (2014) and Junko (2023) on the Hong Kong Vase roll of honour, edging the Chantilly maestro one win ahead of champion Irish handler Aidan O’Brien.

He was recording his third Group 1 victory in the season after the Prix Ganay (2,100m) and the Prix d’Ispahan (1,850m) in France, and was ridden by Maxime Guyon, who also won atop Flintshire (2014) and Junko (2023) previously. HKJC