ROMANTIC WARRIOR PRODUCES PERFORMANCE FOR THE AGES TO CLINCH HISTORIC QE II CUP HAT-TRICK
- Superstar galloper overcomes incredibly difficult run to become the first horse to win the Champions Day feature three times
Romantic Warrior created history with a third straight Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) victory after producing a herculean performance that left James McDonald almost speechless.
Trapped three-wide without cover for the first half of the HK$28 million feature at Sha Tin on Sunday, Danny Shum Chap-shing's superstar galloper looked in trouble when launching his run down the outside on the turn.
But in an extraordinary display, Romantic Warrior fought on strongly to see off Japanese galloper Prognosis and secure a famous three-peat.
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He scored by a neck from Prognosis, who was mighty in defeat after blowing the start and making a sustained mid-race run to almost pinch victory.
McDonald, who has guided Romantic Warrior to six of his seven Group One triumphs, was in awe of the first horse to win the QE II Cup three times.
"He brings a tear to my eye, how good he is. I'm speechless," McDonald said. "He was beaten at the 600m, he just finds a way. It's incredible. I dead set didn't have one thing go my way. I had 10 riders dead set against me and the horse. I just had no favours.
"There wasn't one part of the race I was happy with, to be honest with you. Going out [of the straight] for the first time, I was deep but I was in a rhythm, but not in a good spot.
"A thousand metres from home, I was finally having a rest and [Prognosis] took off at the 600m. [Romantic Warrior] was off the bridle and struggling in the [yielding] ground a tad and he just picks up. I'm just in disbelief."
Romantic Warrior boosted his record to 14 wins from 19 starts and a staggering HK$142.6 million in career earnings.
"He always tries. James did a good job and I have to thank all my stable team. We all love this horse," Shum said. "To run well from three-deep, it's very difficult, but he tries his best. James kept him balanced, kept his momentum and he hit the line strong."
Shum is keen to chase more international glory with Romantic Warrior in the Group One Yasuda Kinen (1,600m) in Japan on June 2, provided the son of Acclamation pulls up well from his latest victory.
"We really want to go to Japan, but the first priority is see how he pulls up, because when he came back for the winning photo, he was a bit tired," Shum said of his tough winner of the Group One Cox Plate (2,040m) at Moonee Valley last October.
"He had to be tired because it wasn't an easy run. Even James just talked to me and said 'make sure the horse is sound and then send him to Japan, otherwise give him a good rest'.
"[The Yasuda Kinen is] a mile and I entered the 2,200m [Takarazuka Kinen] at the end of June just in case. The most important [thing] is the horse pulls up well."
Japan filled both minor placings behind Romantic Warrior, with North Bridge running a distant third after setting the pace.
The other Japanese contender, Hishi Iguazu, ran fifth, Britain's Dubai Honour could only manage seventh and Zac Purton said Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) hero Massive Sovereign failed to handle the yielding track in eighth.
McDonald booted home a double after also guiding David Hayes' Rubylot to a big win in the Class Four FWD Insurance BOCOM Handicap (1,400m), while Shum claimed a race-to-race brace after Supreme Lucky won the Class Two FWD Insurance CCB Handicap (1,400m) for Matthew Poon Ming-fai.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
2024-04-28T13:23:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd
