Romantic Warrior Unlikely to Tackle Dirt Again after Saudi Cup Outing

[Wandering Eyes]

Trainer Danny Shum has all but ruled out a tilt at the G1 Dubai World Cup with his Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), with the G1 Dubai Turf set to be the next port of call after his appearance in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Saturday, February 22.

The three-time G1 Hong Kong Cup winner arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of what will be his debut on dirt in the Saudi Cup, after gaining the tenth Group 1 victory of his glittering career when having his first start in the Middle East in last month's Jebel Hatta at Meydan.

Shum and owner Peter Lau resisted the temptation to test Romantic Warrior on dirt in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge, which took place on the same card as the Jebel Hatta, and will instead roll the dice in Riyadh when the seven-year-old contests the world's richest race.

“Wherever we finish in the Saudi Cup it is 99 per cent certain he will run next in the Dubai Turf,” Shum said of future plans for the world's highest-earning racehorse of all time.

“The Dubai Racing Club have already accepted my entry for the Dubai Turf but not the Dubai World Cup yet, as we want to see how Romantic Warrior finishes the race here, but he will almost certainly go for the turf race.”

Explaining the decision to target the Saudi Cup, Shum continued, “It wasn't an easy decision for the owner as we missed the Gold Cup and Stewards' Cup in Hong Kong. If we stayed there we could win on the turf easily, but Peter really wanted to try the challenge of the world's richest race and come to the Saudi Cup. We are really looking forward to it.

“James [McDonald, jockey], Peter and I discussed about running first on dirt in the Al Maktoum Challenge and thought that might be better. But Peter and I had a lunch meeting and he made a very good point. He said we should run on the turf in Dubai as he could have a [bad] experience on the dirt there, and that the Dubai and Saudi dirt is different. He could win or run really well in Dubai, but that doesn't mean he can run well in Saudi.

“So, we went to the Jebel Hatta knowing we can win easily–and we will keep the dirt a secret. Maybe he will be very good on it, or maybe he can't handle it, but we won't be disappointed if he loses so long as he is happy and sound.”

Shum also confirmed that Romantic Warrior's travelling days are likely to be behind him after a potential start on Dubai World Cup night. In addition to his top-level victories in Hong Kong and Dubai, he is already a previous winner of the Yasuda Kinen in Japan and Cox Plate in Australia.

The trainer added, “I talked to the owner before I left and he probably won't run overseas anymore and we will keep him in Hong Kong for three or four races every season. We'll keep him healthy and happy and hopefully he can do good.”

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