Warrior dominant in 4th QEII Cup win

HONG KONG – James McDonald has hailed Romantic Warrior as “bullet proof”, after the evergreen champion swept to a fourth victory in the HK$30 million (S$4.89 million) Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin on April 26, to reaffirm his standing as one of the world’s premier middle-distance stars.

Pitted against Group 1 winners from around the world, Romantic Warrior surged to his 14th Group 1 triumph, boosted his world record earnings to HK$271.46 million and improved his career record to 23 wins and five minor placings from 30 starts for trainer Danny Shum and owner Peter Lau.

The Acclamation eight-year-old has won 14 of 15 starts over 2,000m at Sha Tin, including a record four Group 1 Hong Kong Cup titles and one Hong Kong Derby – and his latest accomplishment was never in doubt.

Settling fourth behind a modest tempo set by Numbers (Derek Leung) and Giovanni (Jason Collett), Romantic Warrior enjoyed a trouble-free run and, after the pace quickened from the 800m, the veteran accelerated powerfully at the 300m to take the lead and quickly put paid to his opposition.

Clocking 21.91sec for his final 400m, Romantic Warrior ($6) won by a length from Masquerade Ball (Christophe Lemaire), with Sosie (Maxime Guyon) a further ½ length away, in 2min 00.64sec to confirm his standing as an international 2,000m powerhouse.

“It’s just an honour to be riding a horse like him,” said McDonald. “It makes a jockey’s life so easy. He makes things happen which other horses don’t and that’s why he has got the record that he has got.

“He is just bullet proof, really. Over this 10-furlong (race), he just starts well, puts himself in a good spot, rests when he has to rest and then shows an incredible turn of foot.

“I thought the opposition today was very warranted, and had great respect for it and was actually quite worried about it with that Masquerade Ball. I thought he was incredible, and he is one of the best in Japan.

“His run in the (Group 1) Japan Cup (2,400m) was nothing short of incredible. We had great respect for him today, and if he was ever going to get beaten, it was a horse like that.

“He (Romantic Warrior) feels enormous. I take my hat off to Danny and his team and they are just simply incredible.

“It’s probably the best he has ever looked. He just looked so unbelievably well, and he is so relaxed. In Dubai and Saudi, he was really worked up, and even in his work, he was worked up.

“It’s a dream come true and he is a dream come true and I pinch myself every time I hop on him.”

Shum confirmed the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin on May 24 will be Romantic Warrior’s next target, where victory would complete the Triple Crown series – following his victories in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) and Hong Kong Gold Cup – and earn a HK$10 million bonus.

“I have to speak to Peter (about the Triple Crown), but why not? There’s a HK$10 million bonus and (Voyage) Bubble did it, so hopefully Romantic Warrior can hopefully do it too,” said Shum.

“I’m thankful I have Romantic Warrior, and Romantic Warrior is also thankful for me. My team has done a lot of hard work with him. He’s been in good form this season – it (2,000m) is his best distance in Hong Kong. I was quite confident he could win this.

“I don’t tell him he’s eight years old, I always keep telling him he’s five only – that is a joke, but he races very easily and he’s very good. He’s a super champion.”

Shum was equally effusive about McDonald, who has been aboard the champion in 16 victories, including in his Group 1 triumphs in Australia (Cox Plate, 2,040m), Japan (Yasuda Kinen, 1,600m) and Dubai (Jebel Hatta, 1,800m).

“He’s (McDonald) the No. 1 jockey in the world. He loves Romantic Warrior and Romantic Warrior loves him,” he said.

Trainer Mark Newnham celebrated a Group 1 breakthrough in Hong Kong after his stable star My Wish ($27) continued a phenomenal stretch for the Australian trainer by capturing the HK$24 million Group 1 Champions Mile (1,600m) two races earlier.

He won March’s Hong Kong Derby with Invincible Ibis – also ridden by Hugh Bowman – and the duo united once more on the big stage to give the third-season trainer his first Group 1 at Sha Tin.

Bowman, who won on Red Lion in the 2025 Champions Mile, was proud to unite with his compatriot on FWD Champions Day.

“The results speak for themselves. I’m not one of his most used jockeys, but fortunately, he seems to find me when he’s got the better horses, and what a fantastic job he’s doing,” he said.

Breaking from barrier 10, My Wish eased to the tail of the field as Copartner Prance (James Orman) led ahead of Red Lion (Andrea Atzeni) with Lucky Sweynesse (Leung) and Jantar Mantar (Yuga Kawada) trailing.

After hitting the front at the 200m, the son of Flying Artie staved off Cap Ferrat (Craig Wiliams) and Docklands (Mark Zahra), respectively, while Invincible Ibis (McDonald) finished fourth.

Said Newnham: “It couldn’t be going any better really. Like Hugh said, we were fairly confident with the horse, at least as much as you can be going into a Group 1 race. His work here last Saturday morning (April 18) was exceptional.

“I was just sitting in the grandstand and he came flying by. Hugh’s a man of few words generally when he’s hopped off one after galloping them, but I could just tell in his voice that it was as good as the horse could go.”

Ka Ying Rising ($5.30) continued his flawless run with a record-breaking victory in the HK$24 million Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m), sweeping all three legs of the Hong Kong Speed Series and extending his winning streak to 20.

After adding April 26’s win to his Group 1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) and Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup triumphs, the Shamexpress five-year-old completes the Hong Kong Speed Series for a second consecutive season, giving connections a bonus prize money of HK$5 million.

Despite not being ridden out by Zac Purton, the world’s highest-rated horse set another track record and finished 4¼ lengths in front of Japanese galloper Satono Reve (Joao Moreira).

Winning trainer David Hayes said Ka Ying Rising would now be spelled before defending his title in the world’s richest race on turf, the A$20 million (S$18.2 million) Group 1 The Everest (1,200m) in Sydney on Oct 17. HKJC