Hong Kong roundup: Romantic Warrior stuns in Cup victory

They came to bow down to the old king and left saluting a powerful new prince of Hong Kong racing as Romantic Warrior left a high-class global field trailing in his wake at Sha Tin Sunday afternoon with a thunderous performance in the US$4.4 million, Hong Kong Cup (G1) at 1 1/4 miles.

Hong Kong racing’s biggest crowd since the corresponding day in 2019 gave dual Horse of the Year (2020-21 and 2021-22) Golden Sixty a glowing reception despite his failure to wear down California Spangle in the Hong Kong Mile (G1).

But Danny Shum’s gelding banished any sense of anti-climax with a devastating success that left his rider James McDonald saying that Romantic Warrior has “got everything a good horse needs, and he’s got it in spades.”

McDonald had been asked to take the ride on Romantic Warrior once it became clear that Karis Teetan would not recover in time from a positive Covid test.

The Kiwi marked the greatest year of his career when receiving the World’s Best Jockey Award at a glittering Gala Dinner on Friday and the 30-year-old ace has no doubt that Romantic Warrior compares well with any of the elite global performers who have carried him to the peak of his profession.

“This horse has a lot of great attributes, but his greatest is that he’s so adaptable at taking a position,” he said.

“I promise you, that was really as good as it looked,” he said. “He was perfect from start to finish today and he’s right up there with any of the other really good ones I’ve ridden, don’t worry about that.”

If McDonald was always confident, then the same could also be said of the winning trainer, who stood quietly in a covered corner of the weighing-in area as a field of 12, including five Japanese raiders and Irish hope Order Of Australia, jumped from the gates.

Shum didn’t bat an eyelid as the freewheeling Panthalassa edged across his charge to take the lead running into the first bend and cast his eyes up and down from race card to television screen as the Tenno Sho Autumn (G1) runner-up took the field through solid early fractions of 25.34 seconds, 23.53 and 23.51.

Content to settle back into sixth as Ka Ying Star and Money Catcher pressed the leader passing halfway, McDonald asked Romantic Warrior to improve on the outer rounding the home turn and Shum took a deep breath and moved his multi coloured glasses to the top of his forehead.

And then, as Romantic Warrior loomed up to challenge with just over 300 meters to run, the winning trainer finally let his pent-up emotions bubble to the surface.

A deep-throated “Good Boy” rang around the side of the Sha Tin stand as McDonald asked his mount to deliver the killer blow and Romantic Warrior didn’t hesitate for a second, powering four and a half lengths clear to take over from globetrotting French star Jim And Tonic (1999) as the widest margin winner in Hong Kong Cup history in a winning time of 1:59.70.

Danon The Kid stayed on willingly to fare best of the Japanese quintet in second with Money Catcher, Tourbillon Diamond and Russian Emperor finishing third, fourth and fifth for Hong Kong. Geoglyph came home a creditable sixth but fellow Japanese raiders Jack d’Or and Panthalassa were well held in seventh and tenth.

Shum’s previous career highlight came when his crack sprinter Little Bridge staged a daring hit-and-run raid on Royal Ascot’s King’s Stand Stakes (G1) in 2012, but now he is looking forward to an assault on the Hong Kong history books that could involve a clash with California Spangle and Golden Sixty as part of an audacious Triple Crown bid.

“His owner Peter Lau said ‘Danny if we win this race we should target the Hong Kong Triple Crown,’ ” he said.

That epic feat, which involves winning three more G1 prizes comprising the Stewards’ Cup, Hong Kong Gold Cup and Champions & Chater Cup, has been achieved only once, by River Verdon back in 1994.

But Romantic Warrior has already done what very few horses in Hong Kong history have ever done, winning nine of his 10 races since making a winning debut at Happy Valley in October 2021, and Shum is certain his unusually professional temperament is a key factor.

“His confidence keeps increasing but ever since I saw him at the international sale, he has been so professional and calm in everything he does,” he added. “It has been an amazing effort by my team and I think this must be the most memorable day of my career.”

A runaway win in one of the world’s great 2000m contests will always resonate on racing’s global stage but this one rang out in Hong Kong for several significant reasons.

First, it was a maiden Hong Kong International Races success for 62-year-old Shum, who rode 24 winners as a homegrown rider between 1977 and 1983 then learned his trade as a trainer with the legendary Ivan Allan before being awarded a license in his own right for the 2003-04 season.

Second, it provided a ringing endorsement for the Hong Kong International Sale, where the hammer came down at about $US$616,000 when Romantic Warrior went through the ring in June 2021, and for a vintage 2022 Hong Kong Derby that was dominated by Sunday’s Hong Kong Cup and Hong Kong Mile heroes.

And, last but not least, Romantic Warrior’s commanding success left the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s head of handicapping, race planning and international racing Nigel Gray pondering a provisional rating of 124, which would place him behind only world champion Baaeed as the best 2000m turf performer in the world.

But on a day which generated crowd of about 45,000 and a record US$22.2 million in wagering turnover, the focus was more on the sense of joy of seeing a brilliant young horse in full flow as Hong Kong’s sports fans reveled in the first HKIR day with meaningful crowds since COVID struck.

Hong Kong Mile

It was a case of third time lucky for California Spangle at Sha Tin as he sensationally denied Golden Sixty’s record-equalling Hong Kong Mile hat-trick bid in front a raucous 42,624 crowd.

Beaten by Golden Sixty in the 2022 Champions Mile (G1) and last month’s Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile (G2), California Spangle reversed the result with his first-top level crown for trainer Tony Cruz and jockey Zac Purton.

“I’m very proud of the horse. I expected him to win (Hong Kong) International Races one day and lucky I have Zac with me. Zac rode the perfect race today,” Cruz said.

Stepping away cleanly under Purton, the four-year-old fired forward before denying a brave Golden Sixty by a neck in 1:33.41 for the trip, and Laws Of Indices and Beauty Joy filled third and fourth places, respectively.

The win is California Spangle’s ninth from 14 starts in Hong Kong, including victories in last season’s Hong Kong Classic Cup and this season’s Celebration Cup Handicap (G3) and Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy Handicap (G2).

“California Spangle is a rising horse and with Golden Sixty, age has come to catch up with him. I think this is where we got the advantage,” Cruz said.

The win is Purton’s fourth in the race after the victories of Ambitious Dragon (2012), Beauty Only (2016) and Beauty Generation (2018), while the success is Cruz’s fourth also after Lucky Owners (2003), Beauty Flash (2010) and Beauty Only (2016).

Defeat for Golden Sixty was just the champion’s fourth across a career that boasts 22 wins, including six at Group 1 level for trainer Francis Lui and jockey Vincent Ho.

“My horse ran very well and I’m happy for him. The other one had good pace and saved all the ground,” Ho said.

Hong Kong Sprint

Wellington now looks to have the racing world at his feet after the home-trained champion delivered a performance of real authority in the US$3.1 million Hong Kong Sprint (G1) on Sunday.

Richard Gibson’s 6-year-old has had an almost faultless 12 months since his unfortunate seventh-place run in this showpiece at the end of 2021. Now a four-time Group 1 winner, he has swept the board in divisional honors, retaining his Chairman’s Sprint Prize (G1) and returning from a break with an admirable weight-carrying performance in the Premier Bowl Handicap (G2).

Only a few weeks ago, Wellington’s regular rider Alexis Badel dislocated his shoulder in a fall at Sha Tin. Gibson looked to the very top for a replacement, his British compatriot Ryan Moore.

Moore, one of the world’s leading pilots who was winning his eighth race at the Hong Kong International Races, admitted the race went perfectly to plan as he settled in the middle of the pack. Singapore runner Lim’s Kosciuszko went to the front and was then superseded by Christophe Lemaire and John Size-trained Sight Success.

With 200 meters remaining, Lemaire had set for home but Wellington was on his shoulder in an instant, passing the line three-quarters of a length in front in a time of 1:08.76. Sight Success held on for second, ahead of Sky Field and Courier Wonder in a finish dominated by Hong Kong runners.

“He began very well, the pace was very slow for the first furlong and a half,” said Moore. “I was able to slot in just worse than midfield, had a bit of cover and I was able to go when I wanted to go.”

Gibson had been given a challenge as Wellington had been lame after finishing sixth in the Jockey Club Sprint (G2).

“You can’t call yourself a sprint champion unless you win this big one,” he said. “We’re all part of a really big team, Alexis is a huge part of that and I’m gutted for him to miss it but so proud of my guys. We had a lot of work to do after his disappointing run last time out and we’ve got a great veterinary team, chiropractors, there’s a lot of people to thank. We had to be a bit patient but I was pleased we hadn’t missed work with him.”

Gibson had won three races at this meeting but this was his first since 2013, not long after he had relocated from training in France. He said the win opens the door to travel with Wellington, possibly to Royal Ascot next June.

“There is a program for him during the coming months, but if that goes well, we will look at Ascot.”

Hong Kong Vase

The red, black and white silks of Win Company have fared well in Hong Kong thanks to dual Sha Tin winner Win Bright, but it was a case of firsts all round for Damian Lane and Takahisa Tezuka as Win Marilyn passed the entire field to record an impressive debut success in the Hong Kong Vase (G1) at 1 1/2 miles.

Lane refused to be panicked in a race with little early pace and, having broken best of all, allowed Win Marilyn to drift back through the field to the point where they had eight horses ahead of him turning for home.

As French-trained challenger Botanik made his bid for victory, Lane angled Win Marilyn to the outside and once the 5-year-old daughter of Screen Hero hit her stride, the result was quickly settled.

Botanik stayed on well to be a length and a half back in second while hat-trick seeking Glory Vase bowed out with a courageous third-placed effort.

Lane’s previous best in six Hong Kong International Race rides was third aboard Salios in the 2021 Hong Kong Mile, and he admitted that he had put himself under some pressure to get on the board.

“There was a little sense of relief I suppose, I’ve had a few goes here with no success,” said Lane.

Second to Daring Tact in the 2020 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1), Win Marilyn came here off the back of what was arguably a career-best performance when denied by Geraldina in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

Lane has enjoyed considerable success in Japan over the last four years, building on his Cox Plate-winning partnership with Lys Gracieux to record five Grade 1 victories in his adopted winter home.

After a fruitful 2021 campaign, Win Marilyn has improved steadily through the current season and showed her wellbeing when chasing home Jack d’Or and Panthalassa in the Sapporo Kinen (G2), before dead-heating for second behind Geraldina at Hanshin a month ago.

At 5, Win Marilyn is now a valuable broodmare prospect to Big Red Farm but Tezuka held out the possibility that the owners might keep her in training in 2023.

There was to be no third success in this race for 2019 and 2021 winner Glory Vase but he still put up a brave performance to be third.

“He went all right, he did his best,” said Joao Moreira. “His condition was as good as it could be but with his age and younger horses coming up. I’m proud of what he has done.”

German hopes were dashed when Mendocino reared as the stalls opened and refused to race for Rene Piechulek.