Romantic Warrior coasted through a barrier trial at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning (17 September) as trainer Danny Shum’s eight-time Group 1 winner prepares to return in 17 November’s HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2000m).
Romantic Warrior clocked 57.52s in second position over 1000m on turf under Hugh Bowman, a short head behind Macau import Wonderstar.
The Hong Kong International Sale graduate’s first major target is to win an unprecedented third HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) on 8 December at Sha Tin before potentially shipping to the Middle East and Japan in 2025.
The six-year-old is owned by Peter Lau, who last season campaigned Romantic Warrior to Australia and Japan, where he won the G1 W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) and G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m), respectively. Romantic Warrior also won a trio of top-level races at home last term.
“He’s been relaxed since the Yasuda Kinen. It was a good trial, Hugh is happy with him, too. It’s just a trial to remind him that the race is coming soon,” Shum said.