Romantic Warrior, one of the biggest stars in global racing, has been retired due to injury following veterinary assessment in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong superstar retires as the highest-earning racehorse of all time, amassing an astonishing £28,028,453 from 31 career starts.
In a glittering career, Romantic Warrior won a total of 18 Group races, including 15 at the highest level.
He retires as a two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year winner, Hong Kong Triple Crown winner, four-time Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and Group 1 FWD QEII Cup winner, as well as having recorded top-level wins in Japan, Australia and UAE.
A son of Acclamation out of Folk Melody, Romantic Warrior was bred in Ireland by Corduff Stud and T. J. Rooney and purchased as a yearling by Mick Kinane at the Tattersalls October Sale (Book 2) of 2019 for 300,000 guineas.
Winning debut
Trained by Danny Shum and owned by Peter Lau Pak Fai, Romantic Warrior made a winning debut as a three-year-old at Happy Valley in 2021, going on to win a further five races that season – losing only once – and ending the campaign with a Group 1 success in the FWD QEII Cup.
His second season in Hong Kong saw the beginning of a lasting partnership with three-time LONGINES World’s Best Jockey James McDonald, who would go on to ride him in 20 of his 31 starts.
McDonald was aboard for just the second time in December 2023 when Romantic Warrior recorded the first of what would go on to be four Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup wins.
Second best
It was a campaign also highlighted by clashes with Hong Kong’s then preeminent superstar, Golden Sixty, and saw Romantic Warrior come off second best in both the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup and Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup of 2023.
He ended the 2022/23 season with a second win in the Group 1 FWD QEII Cup before narrowly missing out in the Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup when attempting a mile-and-a-half (2400m) for the first time.
The 2023/24 season began with a first international raid, as Romantic Warrior claimed the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in a thrilling finish, running down Mr Brightside in the shadows of the post.
He then went on to defend his Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup crown at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, narrowly defeating the Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg, before going on to add a first Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup to his list of accolades as well as a third Group 1 FWD QEII Cup.
International success
Further international success came that summer as he landed the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo in typically game fashion.
This record-breaking campaign saw Romantic Warrior named 2023/24 Hong Kong Horse of the Year for the first time.
The following season saw his third Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup success and in winning, Shum’s star became the all-time highest-earning racehorse, surpassing Golden Sixty.
Following that victory, an overseas campaign was earmarked, and the son of Acclamation won the Group 1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan in January of 2025 to set up a historic tilt at the Group 1 Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race.
Narrowly mastered
Courageously campaigned by Lau and Shum, Romantic Warrior was making his first start on a dirt surface and, for much of the long Riyadh home straight, looked as though he would last home, only to be narrowly mastered by superstar dirt horse Forever Young.
Further agony for Romantic Warrior fans followed on his next start as he went down by a nose to Soul Rush in the Group 1 Dubai Turf on his final outing of the season.
A fetlock injury requiring surgery in the summer of 2025 could have been the end of an already extraordinary career, but what Romantic Warrior achieved last season added a final dazzling chapter to his career.
He returned to action with a win in the Group 2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup before going on to win all five of his final starts, including a fourth Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and a fourth Group 1 FWD QEII Cup.
Connections earmarked the Hong Kong Triple Crown – Group 1 Stewards’ Cup, Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup – as his target for the 2025/26 season and, after being expertly campaigned by Shum, Romantic Warrior became just the third horse to achieve the feat.
The campaign ended with a further accolade as Romantic Warrior was named joint Hong Kong Horse of the Year, alongside sprint sensation Ka Ying Rising, for the 2025/26 season.
Hong Kong racing returns for the 2026/27 season on Sunday 6 September, with a 10-race card at Sha Tin beginning at 5:30am (UK time).
READ NEXT: Premier League predictions: Arsenal vs Chelsea and more Gameweek 3 betting tips and predictions
Michael Davey