AFTER his travels to Saudi and Dubai in the spring, and surgery to a front fetlock, Romantic Warrior made a triumphant return to racing at Sha Tin on Sunday, as he ran out an emphatic winner in the HK$5.35 million Group 2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup.
Romantic Warrior took his world record earnings to HK$217.7 million as he became the first horse to win a third Jockey Club Cup after victories in 2022 and 2024.
“He’s so special. It takes the words out of my mouth. To be fair, it’s an absolute privilege to ride him and every time he goes around there’s a huge smile on the face. He’s really touching, that horse,” his rider James McDonald said.
“To have him looking how he did, feeling how he did and performing how he did was a real testament to his training ability.”
Romantic Warrior settled fourth behind leading duo Voyage Bubble and Sword Point. Turning for home, McDonald made his move, circling wide, before letting loose in the straight with a telling burst of speed.
Eased down
The Acclamation gelding won, eased down, one and a half lengths ahead of Voyage Bubble, who held second, while Ka Ying Generation took third place.
Romantic Warrior will now be aimed at a record-extending fourth consecutive HK$40 million Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Cup success at December’s Longines Hong Kong International Races.
“It’s not easy to take a horse 232 days back to a Group 2 over 2000 (metres). He’s a superstar, he’s got talent and is smart,” trainer Danny Shum said. “He didn’t look seven years old, even when he turns eight, he will think he’s still a baby.
“He’s fit at the moment. If you really want me to put a figure on it, I will say he was 85%.”
THE world’s top sprinter Ka Ying Rising stretched his unbeaten sequence to 15 races with a devastating display of power and speed to land the HK$5.35 million Group 2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint.
Unbeaten since January 2024, Ka Ying Rising obliterated nine rivals in clocking the second-fastest time in history over 1200m at Sha Tin, marginally outside his own track record, despite being eased down by jockey Zac Purton.
Conceding 5lb to the rest of the field, he jumped to lead before settling in second place behind Beauty Waves.
Purton quickly put the issue beyond doubt on straightening as Ka Ying Rising surged clear inside the last furlong to win eased up by two and three quarter lengths from Fast Network (123lb) with Helios Express third, a further length and three quarters away.
Ka Ying Rising’s 15th consecutive win leaves him third overall for the most wins in a row by a Hong Kong, China-trained horse behind Silent Witness (17) and Golden Sixty (16).
The Shamexpress gelding travelled back to Sha Tin after landing the Group 1 The Everest in Sydney, Australia in October.
Getting better
“He just looks better all the time. He’s mentally getting better. It’s hard to say that he’s improving or that he’s going to get better, but he’s certainly enjoying what he’s doing and handling it really well,” Purton said.
“Mid-race, Beauty Waves was probably just half a step too slow – I know we’ve run nearly a track record time – but he (Ka Ying Rising) was on his tippy toes behind him wanting to go quicker. That’s the beauty with this horse, the faster they go, the better he is.
Trainer David Hayes said: “To the eye, I thought it was probably one of his best wins. That was as easy as I’ve seen him do it.
“He raced at the heaviest Hong Kong weight he’s ever been today, which suggests he’s getting bigger, stronger, better.
“It’s just a dream come true to have a horse like this, and I really want to thank my team that travelled him overseas and didn’t miss a beat with him and brought him back in better condition than he left.
“He’ll be set for (2026) The Everest now again and, of course, we’ve got the big international race in three weeks (HK$28 million Group1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint) which is his short-term grand final, so it’s all very exciting.”
Reporting Declan Schuster/Leo Schlink