Romantic Warrior, already rated one of the top middle-distance turf horses in the world, ventures from his Hong Kong base in search of his fourth straight top-level victory in the Yasuda Kinen (G1) June 2 at Tokyo Racecourse.
The 6-year-old Acclamation 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 heading into this “Win and You’re In” event for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T).
Romantic Warrior returned from Australia to pip multiple group 1 winner Luxembourg by a short head in the Hong Kong Cup (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse in December. He then defeated Voyage Bubble (AUS) by a neck in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) and dispatched another highly-rated foe, Prognosis, by the same margin in the QE II Cup (G1) in his last start.
Fellow Hong Konger Voyage Bubble is also in the Yasuda Kinen and Luxembourg was set to return to action May 31 in the Coronation Cup (G1) at Epsom in England.
Romantic Warrior is rated 120 on the Longines World’s Best Racehorses scale, tied with Pride of Jenni for best in the intermediate turf slot. Prognosis is rated 119. Voyage Bubble is only a few places farther down the list.
The Hong Kong star has built his winning streak at the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4 miles) distance and drops back to 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) for the Yasuda Kinen. He’s tried the distance only twice, winning the 2022 Hong Kong Classic Mile and finishing second to Golden Sixty in the 2023 Stewards Cup (G1).
Trainer Danny Shum said during pre-race training it was the owner’s decision to take on the shorter distance as the most appropriate target in Japan and the distance is not a worry.
“I think if the pace is fast—I do hope the pace is fast—Romantic Warrior has natural speed. He can sit wherever he’s comfortable,” Shum said. “And he’s got an engine so he can hit the line strong.
“All the Japanese horses are very good. They conquer everywhere, in Dubai and in Hong Kong, so I was very happy that the JRA gave us the invitation to bring Romantic Warrior here,” Shum added.
There’s no shortage of local talent in the Yasuda Kinen, including several who have run in Hong Kong.
Namur won the Mile Championship (G1) last November at Kyoto, then finished third in the Hong Kong Mile, trailing only Golden Sixty and Voyage Bubble. A trip to Dubai resulted in a second-place finish in the Dubai Turf (G1) at 1,800 meters but the 5-year-old Harbinger mare then reported eighth in the Victoria Mile (G1) May 12 over the Tokyo turf.
“I have a little regret that perhaps we did too much with her before her last race and she didn’t have enough energy to show her best,” said Namur’s trainer, Tomokazu Takano. “But hopefully things will be different this time. We’ve just freshened her up for this next race, without doing too much.”
Others promise improvement after decent performances.
Parallel Vision, comes off a win in the Lord Darby Challenge Trophy (G3) at Nakayama. The 1-2 finishers of Kyoto’s Yomiuri Miler’s Cup (G2), Soul Rush, and Serifos , return to line up for the Yasuda Kinen.
A potential wild card is Gaia Force, who detoured to the Tokyo dirt course, after contesting his first 12 starts on turf, to finish a surprising second in the February Stakes (G1). He finished fourth in the 2023 Yasuda Kinen.
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