Romantic Warrior’s agonising defeat in the Saudi Cup still stings for Danny Shum and while his stable star has a strong Dubai Turf field to contend with in Meydan on Saturday, momentum is already building for a return to Riyadh next season.
Shum is focussed on the task at hand in Saturday’s 1800m Group 1 but when asked what might lie ahead for Romantic Warrior, it was clear the trainer’s thoughts are taken with one race and one horse: the Saudi Cup and Forever Young.
“He will stay here for two weeks after the race and then return to Hong Kong,” Shum told Idol Horse in Dubai on Wednesday morning. “But after that we have options. We can stay in Hong Kong and look at the Group 1s there, or we can train to go back for the Saudi Cup and that could be his main target.
“He was beaten by the best dirt horse in the world in Saudi and it was his first start on the surface. But who knows, maybe he can improve on it and next season go and win it.”
Romantic Warrior and Forever Young produced a race for the ages at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse in February when the Japanese colt lunged late to deny Hong Kong’s great gladiator close to home.
With Romantic Warrior’s cast iron durability and owner Peter Lau’s love for travelling his pride and joy – ironically, he’s “not a fan of travelling” himself – a potential rematch in Saudi Arabia is tantalising.
But if they were to decide to stay in Hong Kong for the entirety of Romantic Warrior’s eight-year-old campaign, the son of Acclamation would have the 2000m division again at his mercy – unless a Classic Series contender pops out – alongside the healthy Group 1 prizemoney in Hong Kong.
Before Shum and Lau sit down to finalise plans for next season, the pair will be trackside at Meydan to watch Romantic Warrior chase an 11th Group 1 win in the Dubai Turf, where the market and international ratings both suggest he is the horse to beat.
“He’s looking incredible and I’m looking forward to it,” Shum said. “It’s a real tough race but he’s ready to go.
“Gate nine should not be a problem. He’s flexible and if he gets a fast pace, James can give him a chance to settle. If the race is slow, he can sit closer to the pace.”
Romantic Warrior completed his final piece of fast work on the turf under his regular partner, James McDonald, on Tuesday morning and emerged on the dirt buzzy and exuberant as usual for a light piece of work on Wednesday.
“He hasn’t missed a beat and he seems a lot more relaxed here than he was in Saudi,” McDonald said. “He thrives on a bit of pressure and he’s all guns blazing heading into Saturday.
“We all know he’s an absolute champion and hopefully he can show that again on Saturday.”
McDonald’s presence aboard Romantic Warrior on Tuesday morning came at the expense of a Group 1 ride in the Tancred Stakes among a strong book at the rearranged meeting at Rosehill.
While McDonald did not end up missing out on big-race success – he was meant to ride River Of Stars, who finished seventh in the Tancred Stakes – Shum said he appreciated the jockey opting to head to Dubai.
“James and Romantic Warrior have a great relationship with each other,” Shum said. “It’s really special for a jockey to give up a ride in a Group 1 race to gallop him like he did on Tuesday. I don’t know how many jockeys would have done that.”
McDonald is the go-to man for Hong Kong’s three-pronged attack at the Dubai World Cup meeting as he also partners the John Size-trained Howdeepisyourlove in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m) and Frankie Lor Fu-chuen’s Sword Point in the G2 Godolphin Mile.
Lor admits a top three finish would be a fantastic result on the dirt for Sword Point, but McDonald is confident of a big performance from Howdeepisyourlove after his Al Quoz Sprint mount finished third to Ka Ying Rising in his past two starts.
“He doesn’t really run a bad one and he’s competed against the best sprinter in the world at the moment in Ka Ying Rising,” McDonald said.
“I think that form line is as good as any sprinting form line around. You could safely say if Ka Ying Rising was in this field, he’d be a very short-priced favourite and probably winning by four or five lengths,” he added, “so we’re in the ballpark and I think he’s a terrific hope.” ∎
