Romantic Warrior will take his shot at history when he lines up in Sunday’s (24 May) HK$13 million G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin, bidding to become just the third horse to secure Hong Kong’s Triple Crown.

River Verdon (1993/94) and Voyage Bubble last season are the only two horses to have completed the rare treble – an opportunity which has arisen for Danny Shum’s 14-time Group 1 winner following his victories in January’s HK$13 million G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) and the HK$13 million G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) in March.

Coasting through a turf gallop this morning (Tuesday, 19 May) at Sha Tin, Romantic Warrior worked alongside fellow Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup contender Romantic Thor, who is also trained by Shum and co-owned by Peter Lau.

An excited Romantic Thor – under the hands of leading rider Zac Purton – led Romantic Warrior down the back straight of the rain-sodden grass track. The almighty Hong Kong International Sale graduate strode powerfully under his own steam to finish slightly ahead of his workmate, covering 1200m in a time of 1m 17.3s (27.7, 26.2, 23.4).

Shum said: “I think both horses worked good. They galloped on the turf, and it was just a normal gallop at a normal speed – not too fast, not too slow. It’s just so they can enjoy themselves. Both riders were happy afterwards.

“It’ll be a challenge. Romantic Warrior has only raced over 2400 metres once before when he ran second, but that time he was quite keen. He’s getting older now, so he’s easier to control and, hopefully, he can handle the distance. He’s amazing – he’s such a talented animal.”

Eight-year-old Romantic Warrior and five-year-old Romantic Thor are among nine entries for Sunday’s Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup, including Cap Ferrat, Winning Wing and Numbers, all of whom also exercised on Sha Tin’s turf today.

Cap Ferrat went 1200m in 1m 20.6s (30.4, 27.3, 22.9) in front of stablemate Winning Wing, while 2026 HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) second Numbers worked 1200m in 1m 20.1s (28.6, 27.1, 24.4) under jockey Derek Leung.

Ka Ying Generation, Gentlemen Legacy and overseas contenders Deep Monster and Rousham Park also hold entries for this weekend’s stamina test.

An earner of a world-record HK$271.46 million in prizemoney, Romantic Warrior is undefeated across five races this season – highlighted by a record-extending fourth HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and fourth HK$30 million G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) on FWD Champions Day (26 April).

Romantic Warrior’s only previous attempt at Sunday’s 2400m trip came when he was a five-year-old in the 2023 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup, finishing second to dual Hong Kong Champion Stayer (2021/22 & 2022/23) Russian Emperor.

Romantic Warrior is undefeated following surgery to his left fore fetlock one year ago, while recently the bay was acclaimed as joint-second in the latest edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings behind the 130-rated Ka Ying Rising.

He has won top-level contests in Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and the United Arab Emirates across his incredible 30-start career, featuring 23 wins and five second placings.

By Declan Schuster

Photo: HKJC