ROMANTIC WARRIOR – A TRUE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION
By Darren Winningham | Sunday, December 8, 2024
They say there are no sure things in racing and anything can happen ... and then there is Romantic Warrior!
I was at Sha Tin to watch the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR). The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (Group 1) was thirty minutes away. The lines at the Hong Kong Jockey Club race betting terminals were 20 deep. Patrons of all nationalities lined up placing win bets on their champion Romantic Warrior trained by Danny Shum and to be ridden by James McDonald.
They are placing their hard earned – maybe in some cases their rent and food money for the week on their new champion. I saw bets of HK$100 through to a lady who placed HK$200,000 on Romantic Warrior. A few Aussie lads had a lash with multiple HK$1000 bets as well.
We are at post time – the horse parades on the track. The crowd started chanting “JMAC, JMAC, JMAC”. The horse continues to canter to the barrier.
The race is on – Romantic jumps well. JMAC gets him settled and gets him well positioned going out of the straight – so far so good the champion is racing well.
We get to the straight – JMAC gives him two cracks with the whip. The horse responds. JMAC looks around at the 200 metres, ironically right where the LONGINES sponsor's clock is situated and to his amazement he is all alone out in front.
The crowd are roaring – the chant goes up again, “JMAC, JMAC, JMAC”
McDonald is off – he could celebrate this momentous occasion by standing up in the irons and saluting the 70,000 strong crowd.
I stand trackside on the turf – shivers up my spine.
Have I ever seen something so special on a racetrack?
This is hard to compare - Romantic Warrior became the first horse to win the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) three times in a row. Never in history has this occurred and WINNO has been present for all three wins.
The crowd are happy – Romantic Warrior pays HK$1.10 on the HKJC betting. I watch as patrons take photos of their winning tickets and start posting them to social media along with the photos of Romantic Warrior and James McDonald returning to scale.
The emotion of joy is plain to see on JMAC’s face! Words are not going to describe these amazing, emotional scenes.
Post race McDonald tells the throngs of local and international media, “That was unbelievable, I’m so proud of this horse,” said McDonald. “He's just been remarkable and it's some effort by Danny and his team.”
“He's the best, forget the rest, he’s the best. He’s been flying and anyone could ride him because he's that easy, but I'm the lucky one. He’s the horse of a lifetime. This was our moment to create history, and it felt like I was lining up for the winning kick for the All Blacks. It was a ‘pinch-me’ moment.”
Shum said: “He was confident and full of energy. I stayed in the stables the whole time. I didn’t want to go out to talk too much. I work hard. I love my team, and my team has done a great job.”
The other achievement that Romantic Warrior set in winning the 2024 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup is that he is now the biggest money-earner in racing history amassing HK$177.3 million.
The next time we will see this Hong Kong champion is when he steps out in Dubai and Saudi Arabia – his next targes on the international stage after already conquering Australia and Japan.
I suppose the last words must go to James McDonald, who on Friday night when he was awarded the LONGINES World’s Best Jockey of 2024 said, “On Sunday the Hong Kong Cup means a hell of a lot to not only me, the trainer and the connections are all physically involved with him (Romantic Warrior). But now he's got a fanfare that I'm not just riding for those people. I am basically riding for Hong Kong so that's something I'm aware of and I'm very proud to be doing”.
James McDonald, Danny Shum and owner Peter Lau you have made the Hong Kong people proud.
In the process the throngs of people who swarmed to back him at HK$1.10 have gone home happy with a piece of history in their hands and a wallet or purse full of cash.
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