One of the greatest racehorses of all time, the eight-year-old gelding Romantic Warrior, has been retired. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has just made the announcement.
Problems with a front leg are given as the reason for the retirement of Romantic Warrior, who bows out as number two in the TRC World Rankings.
Romantic Warrior was bred in Ireland and was bought by the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Tattersalls in Newmarket in 2019. The price was 300,000 guineas, roughly DKK 2.75 million.
His career tally reads 24 wins and five places from 31 starts. Of the 24 wins, 15 came at Group 1 level, and his earnings reached an enormous DKK 244 million or so.
He raced almost exclusively in Hong Kong, where he won the biggest race of all, the Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1), four times.
His trips abroad included the win in the Jebel Hatta (Gr.1) at Meydan in 2025, where he also finished second in the Saudi Cup (Gr.1), and in 2023 he won the Cox Plate (Gr.1) at Moonee Valley in Australia.
Romantic Warrior was trained in Hong Kong by Danny Shum, and in recent years only the Australian star jockey James McDonald partnered him. McDonald is currently number one in the TRC World Rankings.
