Romantic Warrior has overcome many challenges during his extraordinary career, combining exceptional cruising speed and instant acceleration with possession of the heart of a lion.
Now this ten-times Group 1 winner faces a fresh issue, encountering 13 rivals in Saturday’s (22 February) G1 Saudi Cup (1800m) at King Abdulaziz racecourse, his first racing experience on dirt.
Trainer Danny Shum has said that there is no way of properly predicting how the veteran of 23 turf races will adapt to the novel surface under his hooves until the race itself, a point echoed by James McDonald though the brilliant New Zealand-born jockey also observed: “If there is one horse in the world who can transfer his turf form to the dirt, it is Romantic Warrior. And one thing I do know is that he will try his best. He always does.”
Mishriff (2021) and Panthalassa (2023), two of the past four winners of the world’s richest horse race, had both raced only once on an artificial surface before their Saudi Cup victories. Facts such as these will perhaps lessen underfoot worries for Romantic Warrior’s legion of fans.
Panthalassa was handled by Yoshito Yahagi and the Japanese trainer is responsible this time for Forever Young (Ryusei Sakai), widely regarded as the other central character in the climax to this world-class meeting.
A relentless galloper, Forever Young delivered an extraordinary late surge to poke his head in front in the last strides of the G3 Saudi Derby (1600m) at the Saudi Cup meeting last year. Some outstanding performances since include his third, just a short-head away from a historic first Japanese victory in the G1 Kentucky Derby (2000m), at Churchill Downs.
Yahagi is respectful of the menace posed by the Hong Kong superstar, commenting: “Romantic Warrior should be the biggest danger, but he is not the only threat to us.”
Yahagi might well be thinking also of US star Rattle N Roll, who is handled by veteran trainer Kenneth McPeek and the mount of Joel Rosario. He landed the G2 Clark Stakes (1800m) at Churchill Downs last November, ‘a real highlight’ says McPeek about a horse who had come back from a potential career-threatening injury.
The Saudi Cup, rather than more obvious big US prizes, was then chosen for the highly accomplished six-year-old. Last month Rattle N Roll justified that decision after stylishly accelerating past rivals in the long straight for an easy routing of 19 opponents in a Group 3 course and distance Saudi Cup trial.
“That put us in a position where we might be able to win the whole thing,” says McPeek referring to the Saudi Cup’s massive US$10 million (approx. HK$78 million) winners’ prize.
Locally-trained Emblem Road sprang a huge 2022 Saudi Cup shock win and it may prove unwise to ignore Saudi-based challengers here, especially Al Musmak considering this week’s comments by Thamer Aldaihani, who currently has a huge lead in the local trainer’s standings.
Twice a winner on turf at Listed level when trained in the UK, he made a very impressive Saudi debut over the King Abdulaziz course and distance in January.
“Al Musmak acts on dirt very well. I think this race is between Romantic Warrior and our horse,” Aldaihani said.
