A Dozen Group 1s For Acclamation’s Romantic Warrior

[Wandering Eyes]

Former Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior put his stamp on the G1 Stewards' Cup over 1600 metre at Sha Tin on Sunday, a 12th top-level victory for the son of Acclamation.

Favoured at 1-2 in his first trip to the post since claiming a fourth consecutive score in the G1 Hong Kong Cup this past December, the eight-year-old perched just off the leading trio from the bell. Red Lion (Belardo) edged ahead of the field with 1000 metres to go, as Romantic Warrior drifted back to midfield briefly. The bay cruised willingly back up to sit second before the turn, and he kicked easily past new leader and familiar foe Lucky Sweynesse (Sweynesse) with less than 100 metres to travel without ever being asked a serious question. The margin at the line was 1 3/4 lengths, with a stubborn Lucky Sweynesse hanging on for second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of last out G1 Hong Kong Mile hero and defending champion Voyage Bubble (Deep Field).

Said rider James McDonald of the winner, who is beginning his Hong Kong Triple Crown bid, “His demeanor, his courage, his will to win, it's just in spades. It's incredible. I say it every time, but when he steps out, it's a privilege to ride such a horse of his calibre.

“He began really well, and I thought it was going to be pretty smoothly run. But a few picked up, which was quite surprising, and he was always in a nice rhythm.

“Gate seven out of nine gave us that opportunity to not force our hand and wait until it settled down, and I knew Voyage Bubble was three deep, and I wasn't going to give him a cart.”

A winner of the G1 Jebel Hatta in the UAE, Romantic Warrior ran second in the G1 Saudi Cup in Riyadh and second in the G1 Dubai Turf returned to Dubai last April. Given some time off after he had a screw inserted into a fetlock, he won his third edition of the G2 Jockey Club Cup in November prior to his Hong Kong Cup win a month later.

The second leg of the Hong Kong Triple Crown is the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup on March 1, and the final leg is the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup on May 24.

“I'm so proud of Romantic Warrior,” said trainer Dannny Shum, expressing his delight at the performance. “He can handle 1600 [metres], 2000, even 2400 – he can handle any distance.

“We all know 2000 is his best trip, so no problem there. I'll just keep him happy, keep him healthy – it's a very easy job for me.”

Pedigree Notes

Romantic Warrior, who took his earnings north of $31 million with his victory on Sunday, is the best runner from the much-missed sire Acclamation. The son of Royal Applause sired 68 stakes winners, 32 of them group/graded and seven Group/Grade 1 scorers. Like former champion sire Dark Angel, Romantic Warrior is out of a mare by Street Cry, or his sire Machiavellian.

The winner's dam won once at two in England and has five winners from five to race, including the stakes-placed End Of Romance (Showcasing). Her latest foals are Le Samourai (New Bay), an unraced three-year-old, and a yearling filly by Havana Grey.    Second dam Folk Opera claimed the GI E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine, as well as the G2 Prix Jean Romanet.

 

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
STEWARDS' CUP-G1, HK$13,000,000, Sha Tin, 1-25, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:32.60, gd.
1–ROMANTIC WARRIOR (IRE), 126, g, 8, by Acclamation (GB)
            1st Dam: Folk Melody (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire)
            2nd Dam: Folk Opera (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire)
            3rd Dam: Skiphall (GB), by Halling
(300,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT; HK$4,800,000 HRA '21 HKIS). O-
Peter Lau Pak Fai; B-Corduff Stud & T J Rooney; T-Danny C S
Shum; J-James McDonald; HK$7,280,000. Lifetime Record:
HofY-HK, Ch. 4yo & 3x Ch. Middle Distance Horse-HK, G1SW-
Aus, Jpn & UAE, G1SP-KSA, 28-21-5-0, $31,494,703. *1/2 to
End Of Romance (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), SP-US. Werk Nick
   Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or
   the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), 126, g, 7, Sweynesse (Aus)–Madonna
Mia (NZ), by Red Clubs (Ire). (NZ$90,000 2yo '20 NZBRTR). O-
Cheng Ming Leung, Cheng Yu Ting, Cheng Mei Mei & Cheng Yu
Wai; B-P L Dombroski, Explosive Breeding Ltd & S A Sharrock;
T-Manfred Man; J-K Leung; HK$2,730,000.
3–Voyage Bubble (Aus), 126, g, 7, Deep Field (Aus)-Raheights
(Aus), by Rahy. (A$380,000 Ylg '20 INGFEB). O-Sunshine and
Moonlight Syndicate; B-Torryburn Stud (NSW); T-Ricky P F Yiu;
J-Zac Purton; HK$1,495,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 1 3/4, NS. Odds: 0.50, 46.00, 2.90.
Also Ran: My Wish (Aus), Sunlight Power (Aus), Beauty Joy (Aus), Galaxy Patch (Aus), Straight Arron (Aus), Red Lion (Ire). Click for the HKJC chart, PPs and sectional timing. VIDEO.

 

 

“WHAT AN ANIMAL!”

Romantic Warrior is all class in the Stewards' Cup under @mcacajamez…#HKRacing @HKJC_Racing pic.twitter.com/FhIT9gS0jd

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) January 25, 2026

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