Romantic Warrior reigned supreme in Hong Kong as the globetrotting 6-year-old was the only winner among three local superstars on Champions Day April 28 at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Romantic Warrior battled his way to victory in the QE II Cup (G1) while three-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty could manage only fourth in the Champions Mile (G1) and Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) winner California Spangle was unable to hold off Invincible Sage in the stretch run of the Chairman's Sprint Prize (G1) and finished second.
The races were run on yielding turf, unusual for Hong Kong and likely a handicap for both Golden Sixty and California Spangle, who prefer to hear hooves rattle in their contests.
Romantic Warrior and jockey James McDonald overcame the conditions and more to win the QE II Cup for a third consecutive year. After starting from the No. 10 gate in the short run to the first turn, the 6-year-old Acclamation gelding was caught wide without cover and forced to circle rivals turning for home. Once in the clear, he battled with Japanese rival Prognosis, who had rallied from last of 11. At the finish, Romantic Warrior had a neck in front.
Massive Sovereign, last seen winning the Hong Kong Derby in just his second start since arriving from Ireland, faded through the straight to finish eighth.
McDonald seemed amazed at Romantic Warrior's performance, noting he was "struggling in the ground a tad."
"I'm speechless. He's awesome," McDonald said. "He was beaten at the 600 meters; he just finds a way. It's incredible. I dead-set didn't have one thing go my way. I had ten riders dead-set against me and the horse. I just had no favors.
"There wasn't one part of the race I was happy with, to be honest with you," he added.
The QE II Cup trophy goes into a collection that also includes hardware earned by Romantic Warrior this season in October's Cox Plate (G1) in Australia and two local group 1s. He is virtually certain to lift the Horse of the Year honor from 8-year-old Golden Sixty.
And he looks to have a chance to add to an already stellar season as trainer Danny Shum has entered Romantic Warrior in the Yasuda Kinen (G1) June 2 at Tokyo Racecourse.
The dynamic duo strikes again! 🏆
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 28, 2024
Romantic Warrior & @mcacajamez have won the FWD QEII Cup from Hong Kong! pic.twitter.com/9Nj3pYbqKM
Golden Sixty, meanwhile, did well to finish fourth in the Champions Mile, behind longshots Beauty Eternal, Red Lion and Voyage Bubble. Golden Sixty holds all the significant local records and has authored a script unlikely to be matched soon, if ever, including 26 wins from 31 starts. But the race was only his second of the season as trainer Francis Lui has babied him along in deference to age and an injury sustained after his victory in the Hong Kong Mile (G1) in December.
Beauty Eternal, under Zac Purton, led from the early jumps in the Mile, set a moderate pace and wasn't for catching in the late going, winning by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:34.52. The 5-year-old Starspangledbanner gelding, who was third behind Voyage Bubble in the 2023 Hong Kong Derby, nailed his first group 1 triumph for trainer John Size.
"There was no speed in the race, which gave us the opportunity to lead," Purton said. "I thought the only chance I had to beat Golden Sixty was to try to put a gap on them and see how we went. Today was his day."
Golden Sixty's jockey, Vincent Ho, cited the going.
"He ran well. The ground was not in our favor," Ho said. "When I hit the straight, I could already feel he could not pick up with his usual turn of foot. I know it's difficult, but it is what it is. We can't fight the weather."
The Chairman's Sprint Prize went to a mid-priced runner in Invincible Sage, a 4-year-old making his first appearance in a top-level race. With Hugh Bowman up, Invincible Sage raced just off the pace while California Spangle battled for the lead. When the question was asked, California Spangle didn't have enough left to hold off the challenge and yielded by 1 1/2 lengths.
Winning trainer David Hall said he couldn't judge how much the conditions aided Invincible Sage.
"It's hard to judge that," he said. "Until we see him do that on a firm deck, I don't know. But he has been progressive and he is just one of those horses where you are still defining where you think he is at ... He has done it progressively and got the conditions to suit him again today. It was an easy watch."
Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges credited the Sha Tin Racecourse grounds crew with handling a week of heavy rain to provide a racing surface that handled 10 races safely.
"They did an extraordinary job," Engelgrecht-Bresges said. "With these types of weather conditions, the ground was extremely fair, and it enabled all the horses to participate."
Engelbrecht-Bresges said the total attendance of 33,586 included 5,110 visitors from Mainland China, which he described as "exceptional." The HKJC is looking forward to starting regular race meetings in 2026 at its plush new track at Conghua on the Mainland.
The HKJC announced after the races that purses for three of Hong Kong's most important group 1 races—the Champions Mile, Hong Kong Mile and Hong Kong Cup—will be increased for the 2024-25 racing season by a total of HK$10 million (about US$1.28 million). With that, Hong Kong's 12 group 1 races will offer a record HK$265 million (about US$33.85 million) in the coming racing season.
"Hong Kong's two international race days are among the elite meetings on the global stage," said Andrew Harding, the HKJC executive director of racing. "As such, The Club believes it is appropriate to provide strategic and targeted prize money increases to flagship races at our international race days."
