$22 million earner Romantic Warrior & Shum eye Middle East
Trainer Danny Shum indicated his delight with the world’s highest-earning racehorse Romantic Warrior as the 6-year-old gelding gets familiar with new surroundings at Dubai Racing Club, his base for a three-race Middle East campaign.
“He’s good. Our team has sent videos of him swimming and at the track with (companion) Romantic Charm,” Shum said. “The horse is very happy. The facilities are great. It has a huge training track, and the stables are very good. They’ve been very good. We even had a police escort.”
Romantic Warrior’s raid is expected to encompass three runs, likely starting with the Group 1, 1 1/8-mile Jebel Hatta at Meydan on Jan. 24, putting him on a collision course with the track’s nine-furlong record holder Measured Time who races for Godolphin.
“I will go to Dubai on the 19th after the races at Sha Tin to get ready for the 24th of January,” Shum said. “James McDonald comes, too, after the races we will go together. Romantic Warrior will gallop (Jan. 21) on turf and run on the Friday. ... Measured Time looks very strong. He broke the track record.”
Measured Time became the first two-time winner of the 1 1/8-mile Al Rashidiya (G2) on Friday when he lowered Just A Way’s record of 1:45.52 at Meydan to 1:45.11 for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick.
Nine-time Group 1 winner Romantic Warrior, who has earned a record $22,496,342, according to Equibase, will ship to Saudi Arabia for the $20 million, 1 1/8-mile Saudi Cup (G1) on dirt Feb. 22 at Riyadh before contesting either the $12 million, 1 1/4-mile Dubai World Cup (G1) on dirt or the $5 million, 1 1/8-mile Dubai Turf (1800m) on April 5 at Meydan.
“Every night my team takes a photo of him for me. They go back to the stables and check on him. Every night we get an update,” Shum said of Romantic Warrior, twice a winner outside Hong Kong in the 2023 Cox Plate (G1) at 1 1/4 miles in Australia and the 2024 Yasuda Kinen (G1) going a mile in Japan.
A 17-time winner from 22 starts, Hong Kong International Sale graduate Romantic Warrior won an unprecedented third consecutive Hong Kong Cup (G1) at 1 1/4 miles this month at Sha Tin. He also has three wins in the 1 1/4-mile QEII Cup (G1) in Hong Kong.