What's it called when the second leg of a Triple Crown series has to share top billing with another race on the same program?
Right. An embarrassment of riches. And that's just what the Hong Kong Jockey Club has March 1 at Sha Tin Racecourse.
The Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) is the pivot point for the Triple Crown and gets the added luster of local hero Romantic Warrior continuing his bid for a sweep. And the Hong Kong Classic Cup finds Little Paradise seeking a second win in the three-race series that culminates in the Hong Kong Derby—the race every local owner and trainer wants to win.
The Gold Cup goes as the seventh race. The Classic Cup is two stops later on the 11-race Sha Tin program.
Romantic Warrior should be a substantial favorite. A year ago, he was in the Middle East, where he won the Jebel Hatta (G1T) in Dubai, then finished second by a neck to Forever Young in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) and second by a nose to Soul Rush in the Dubai Turf (G1T) a month later.
In his absence, Voyage Bubble stepped into the void and became just the second horse ever to sweep Hong Kong's Triple Crown races.
This season, Romantic Warrior stayed home to launch his own Triple Crown bid and started with a victory in the Jan. 25 Stewards' Cup (G1), relegating Voyage Bubble to third. That came at 1 mile, regarded as Voyage Bubble's best distance. This second leg is 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles), Romantic Warrior's sweet spot.
Romantic Warrior, defying time at age 8, now is 3-for-3 since surgery and a long layoff following the Dubai race.
The series concludes with the Champions & Chater Cup (G1) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) May 24. All of the races are on grass.
The Derby series for 4-year-olds kicked off with a bit of an upset as Little Paradise rallied powerfully from well back in the big field to win the Hong Kong Classic Mile under Vincent Ho, despite having to alter course twice in the stretch run.
Ho worked the Toronado gelding before dawn Feb. 25, reporting he "felt good. He's ready and I'm ready. We're looking forward to it."
Impressive as it was, Little Paradise's winning stretch run in the Classic Mile didn't discourage many of his competitors, as an overflow field was entered to try him again in the Classic Cup. In that bunch are the second- through fourth-place finishers from the Classic Mile as well as the favorite from that race, Invincible Ibis, who reported sixth.
The Classic Cup is on turf 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles). The Derby is 2,000 meters. Ho said he has no doubt Little Paradise will stretch out that far.
In addition to being a key target for the locals, the Derby has a solid record of producing stars for the following years' big international races, none shining brighter than Golden Sixty, who swept the series in 2020.
The preparations for both races were, if not overshadowed, at least briefly displaced by the announcement early in the week that Joao Moreira is returning in April as stable rider for trainer Caspar Fownes.
Moreira, known as "Magic Man," is a four-time Hong Kong jockey champion and engaged in tough battles with Zac Purton for the premiership before Moreira left, hoping to set up shop in Japan. When that didn't work out, after a brief retirement and rehab for a hip injury, he went on a world tour and has ridden in the Middle East, South America, the United States, and Europe in many of the world's top races. He rode Luxor Cafe to a 12th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs last year, for example.
Purton has dominated the Hong Kong jockey colony since Moreira's departure. Through Feb. 24 he had logged 79 wins for the 2025-26 season while his closest competitor, Hugh Bowman, had 35.
