Romantic warriorhas been rated as one of the top middle-distance turf horses in the world, venturing from his Hong Kong base in search of a fourth consecutive senior victory in the Yasuda Kinen (G1). June 2 at Tokyo Racecourse.
6 year old boy Welcome The gelding carried the Hong Kong banner to victory in the Cox Plate (G1) in Australia last October and has done nothing since to cast doubt on his form entering the “Win and you’re in” for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T) ).
The romantic warrior returns from Australia to win multiple group 1s Luxembourg by a short head in the Hong Kong Cup (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse in December. He then defeated Travel balloon (AUS) by a neck in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) and took down another highly rated opponent, Prognosisby the same margin in the QE II Cup (G1) in his most recent start.
Hong Konger member Voyage Bubble is also at Yasuda Kinen and Luxembourg is expected to return to action on May 31 in the Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom in England.
Romantic Warrior is ranked 120 on Longines’ World’s Best Racehorses scale, tied for Jenni’s pride Best in intermediate turf positions. Prognosis is ranked 119. Voyage Bubble is only a few places further down the list.
The Hong Kong star built his winning streak at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) and dropped to 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) for Yasuda Kinen. He only attempted the distance twice, winning the 2022 Hong Kong Classic Mile and finishing second to Sixty gold at the 2023 Steward Cup (G1).
Trainer Danny Shum said during pre-race practice, the owner decided on the shorter distance as the most suitable target in Japan and that distance was not a concern.
“I think if it’s fast—I hope it’s fast—Romantic Warrior has natural speed. He can sit wherever he feels comfortable,” Shum said. “And he has a motor to be able to rush the line hard.
“All the Japanese horses are very good. They conquer everywhere, in Dubai and Hong Kong, so I’m very happy that JRA invited us to bring the Romantic Warrior here,” Shum added.
Yasuda Kinen has no shortage of local talent, including some who have run for office in Hong Kong.
Namur won the Mile Championship (G1) last November at Kyoto, then finished third in the Hong Kong Mile, just behind Sixty gold and Travel Bubble. Trip to Dubai produced a second-place finish in the Dubai Turf (G1) at 1,800 meters but the 5-year-old omen Mare then finished eighth in the Victoria Mile (G1) on May 12 on the Tokyo turf.
Namur’s coach, Tomokazu Takano, said: “I’m a bit sad because maybe we did too much with her before her last race and she didn’t have enough energy left to show her full potential. mine”. “But hopefully this time things will be different. We’re just getting her ready for the next race without doing too much.”
Others promised improvement after good performances.
Parallel vision, won the Lord Darby Challenge Trophy (G3) at Nakayama. The team finished 1-2 in Kyoto’s Yomiuri Miler’s Cup (G2), Soul feverAnd Serifos back in line to wait for Yasuda Kinen.
A potential wild card is Gaia Force, who took a detour to the Tokyo dirt, after competing in his first 12 starts on turf, to finish a surprising second in the February Stakes (G1). He finished fourth at Yasuda Kinen in 2023.
