Romantic Warrior may be in the veteran stage of his career, but after a perfect campaign at home in Hong Kong last season, the great champion’s owner Peter Lau is considering one last tilt at the one that got away, the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh next February.
But, first things first, the priority for the remarkable eight-year-old – he’ll be nine by the time the lucrative Saudi race comes around – is to complete an incredible five-in-a-row at the Hong Kong International Races in December.
The likelihood, Lau told Idol Horse, is that Romantic Warrior will have one lead-up race into the G1 Hong Kong Cup, most likely the G2 Jockey Club Cup at the same 2000m distance at Sha Tin in mid-November.
“Barring any illness or injury, right now we look as far as the next Hong Kong Cup in December, and perhaps a warm-up race before that,” Lau said.
“If his performance in the Hong Kong Cup clearly tells us that he’s not the horse he used to be, perhaps we might retire him after that race. But if we win that race, we actually might consider racing him abroad for one last time in the Saudi Cup.”
Romantic Warrior’s rare record makes him one of the sport’s all-time greats. The Irish-bred gelding is the world’s all-time leading money earner with HK$288.7 million (almost US$37 million), and he is a two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year, one of only three horses to win the Hong Kong Triple Crown, and his 24 wins from 31 starts also include victories overseas in Australia’s G1 Cox Plate, the G1 Yasuda Kinen in Japan and the G1 Jebel Hatta in Dubai.
But Romantic Warrior is also remembered for his famous defeat in one of the most epic races this century: second place behind Forever Young in the 2025 Saudi Cup. Racing on dirt for the first and so far only time in his career, the Danny Shum-trained superstar, under his regular partner James McDonald, tracked wide on the home turn and raced to an impressive lead down the Riyadh straight, only to be run down late by the Japanese dirt-track champion.
Romantic Warrior might have been back in Riyadh for a repeat attempt earlier this year, but an injury which required surgery in the summer prompted Lau and Shum to opt for their hero to stay in Hong Kong through an unblemished six-win 2025-26 season.
“I think last time in the Saudi Cup, his performance suggested that he might be an even better horse on dirt than on turf,” Lau explained. “He went five-wide, lost to the best dirt horse in the world, and had the third horse ten lengths away.
“So that’s our plan if he shows us that he is holding his form and is healthy.”
Romantic Warrior was sent to the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s training facility at Conghua in late June and was kept to a daily swim until he returned to Sha Tin on July 10. A subsequent 12-day break from all recorded exercise ended on July 27 and he has since been trotting and swimming as he builds up fitness into the new season. ∎
