Romantic Warrior takes the Hong Kong Triple Crown, Courtesy Breandán Ó hUallacháin
Breandán Ó hUallacháin
The Irish-bred Romantic Warrior (1/10 favourite) became only the third horse to win the Hong Kong Triple Crown with victory in the HK$13 million [US$1.66m] Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) at Sha Tin.
Winning a record-extending 15th Group 1 by a Hong Kong-trained horse, Romantic Warrior, ridden by James McDonald, joins River Verdon (1993-94) and Voyage Bubble (2024-25) as a Hong Kong Triple Crown winner.
The eight-year-old defeated Numbers by a half-length in the final leg of the Triple Crown series, the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup, run over just short of one-and-a-half miles. Deep Monster finished a further length-and-a-half back in third place, with the winner clocking 2 minutes 26.67 seconds – the same time recorded by the 2025 victor Voyage Bubble.
Sitting in third position under Australian rider James McDonald in the initial stages of the race, the odds-on favourite was fourth as the field reached the opening turn, sitting one off the inside rail.
While the early race leader, Romantic Thor, set a steady pace, once Numbers took the lead, so did the speed of the race. Deep Monster was prominent, with Romantic Warrior joining him two furlongs from home. The crowd favourite, Romantic Warrior, soon had a battle on his hands as Numbers refused to yield, before eventually gaining the ascendancy to win by a half-length at the finishing line. Numbers, in turn, had one-and-a-half lengths of an advantage over Deep Monster at the wire.
Successful Handler’s Reaction
Romantic Warrior’s trainer, Danny Shum, said of his stable star:
“I’m such a lucky guy, lucky trainer – because I can train Romantic Warrior. Before the race we already set up the plan – put him to sleep, let him relax, and try to hit the front. He hit the line in the last 400m, so James (McDonald) has done a great job, he’s top-class jockey.”
Romantic Warrior’s connections received a HK$10 million [US$1.28m] Triple Crown Bonus following his latest success. As a result, Romantic Warrior has now won world-record prizemoney of HK$288.7 million [US$36.87m] for his owner Peter Lau.
Successful rider James McDonald said of the new Triple Crown champion:
“He’s a Triple Crown winner; he thoroughly deserved it. I think this is the cherry on top – he should be Horse of the Year this year and I think he stamped that by winning the Triple Crown.”
Irish-bred son of Acclamation
Bred by Corduff Stud and T. J. Rooney in Ireland, the bay son of Rathbarry Stud’s late stallion Acclamation won the 2023 Cox Plate in Australia and is the only racehorse to win four Hong Kong Cups with victories from 2022-2025 inclusive. In 2024 he became the first foreign-trained horse in 18 years to win at Tokyo Racecourse, Japan, when winning the Yasuda Kinen – a Grade 1 race run over one mile on turf.
Unquestionably the most successful and decorated progeny of his late sire, Romantic Warrior is one of 68 stakes winners for Acclamation – 32 of them being graded or group winners, seven at Group 1 level.
Hong Kong’s new Triple Crown winner was sourced by former Irish champion flat jockey Michael Kinane and sold at the Hong Kong International Sale in 2021 where Peter Lau paid HK$4.8 million [US$610,000] for the gelding.
Unbeaten in Three Years
Earlier this season, the 2022 Champion Middle-Distance Horse, Romantic Warrior, won the first two legs of the Hong Kong Triple Crown: the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup in January and the Group 1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup in March. In addition, he also took out the Group 1 FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup last month.
Romantic Warrior hasn’t now been beaten in Hong Kong for three years – his last defeat was when finishing runner-up to Russian Emperor in the 2023 Champions & Chater Cup. As Romantic Warrior’s 2025-26 racing season ends, he completes a perfect six wins from six races, with five of those victories coming at Group 1 level.
Last season’s champion flat sire of Ireland and Britain, Yeomanstown Stud’s Dark Angel, is bred on a similar cross to Romantic Warrior – out of a Machiavellian mare. Romantic Warrior is a grandson of the Grade 1 I E. P. Taylor Stakes winner Folk Opera.
