Romantic Warrior finds himself in an unusual position this Friday night in Hong Kong. The world’s highest-earning racehorse is in a three-way race – and he’s the clear outsider of the three.
That has only happened once before on the racetrack, when he was third favourite for the 2022 Hong Kong Classic Mile behind Packing Victory and California Spangle but managed to eke out the win. Every other time, he has been in the top two in betting.
This time, the result will not be determined by the winning post but in a backroom decision at Hong Kong Jockey Club headquarters when six panelists decide the city’s Horse of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
General consensus has Ka Ying Rising a heavy favourite after his eight from eight season that has him rated the world’s best sprinter. Voyage Bubble has claims, too, having joined River Verdon as a Triple Crown winner.
Despite winning the G1 Jebel Hatta in Dubai in addition to the G1 Hong Kong Cup and the G2 Jockey Club Cup, Romantic Warrior’s defeats in the G1 Saudi Cup and the G1 Dubai Turf have relegated him to a bit player in this scenario.
Unlike some jurisdictions, international form is eligible for consideration when determining the Horse of the Year under the HKJC’s election criteria. However, local form has generally held sway among the small cohort of voters.
Consider this: there have been 17 Hong Kong horses who have won Group 1 races abroad and a further four who won domestic Group 1 races abroad, such as the Korea Sprint, Kranji Mile and, once upon a time, the Yasuda Kinen. Of those 21, just five have been named Horse of the Year in the season in which they won overseas: Romantic Warrior (2023-24), Military Attack (2012-13), Vengeance Of Rain (2006-07), Bullish Luck (2005-06) and Fairy King Prawn (1999-00).
Romantic Warrior and Military Attack both won multiple Hong Kong Group 1 races in addition to their international success, but Vengeance Of Rain, Bullish Luck and Fairy King Prawn all had one local feature to go alongside their one abroad – just as Romantic Warrior does this season.
Trailblazing feats like Aerovelocity’s three Group 1 wins in three countries in the same season, Rich Tapestry’s extraordinary Grade 1 win on dirt or Cape Of Good Hope’s Moonee Valley-Royal Ascot double were eventually overlooked by voters. Each time, local performances won out – Aerovelocity and Rich Tapestry both lost to Able Friend, while Cape Of Good Hope found himself in the shadow of the imperious Silent Witness once more.
Perhaps the greatest comparison for Romantic Warrior this year comes with Vengeance Of Rain in 2006-07. That year, he won the Hong Kong Gold Cup and the Dubai Sheema Classic, but he had been comprehensively beaten by Viva Pataca in the QEII Cup and the Champions & Chater Cup.
Both expat and Chinese pundits labelled Viva Pataca a sure thing and Vengeance Of Rain’s victory was labelled as a “stolen” result long before the days of President Trump.
Could the panel again confound the experts by awarding Romantic Warrior his second Horse of the Year title?
It also poses another question: what if Romantic Warrior had won the Saudi Cup?
Then he lines up with two Group 1 wins across turf and dirt, including the world’s richest race against arguably the best dirt horse in the world. It is an unprecedented success, one which maintains his perfect season to date. Surely, with a Saudi Cup triumph on his resume, he is a unanimous Horse of the Year.
A nose is sometimes all that matters; for Romantic Warrior, a neck is the difference between assured victory and also-ran status in this contest. ∎
