Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior gets Meydan sighter in Jebel Hatta

Romantic Warrior, the world’s highest-earning racehorse, will have his first run in Dubai on Friday when he will face seven rivals in the Jebel Hatta at Meydan.

The Danny Shum-trained seven-year-old has not been beaten since finishing fourth in the Turnbull Stakes in Australia in October 2023.

Since then he has won the Cox Plate, the Hong Kong Cup twice and the Yasuda Kinen in Japan, among other big races.

James McDonald – crowned Longines World’s Best Jockey for 2024 in front of Ryan Moore – has built up a strong rapport with him and after a light workout earlier in the week declared himself happy.

“He was really good, (he) had only a light piece of work and breezed home nicely, so very happy,” McDonald said.

“He was just breezing – not fast for him. He’s really good – (in) good form.

“He’s obviously got a big challenge ahead, but he’s in good form.”

Shum is used to all the travelling now and said the gelding is comfortable with his globetrotting role.

“It’s almost the same, not much difference,” Shum said when asked to compare previous ventures overseas.

“He’s good, healthy, happy and strong. He’s now used to all the trips overseas. He’s a tough horse.

“He has our stable team and Romantic Charm with him, so he understands he is safe. The idea of his work under James is just to get him used to the turf. He is good.”

Shum does, though, expect Romantic Warrior to improve fitness-wise for the run ahead of his next target, the Saudi Cup, which will lead him into the Dubai World Cup.

“I believe he’s at 80-90 per cent of his best condition. Actually, I don’t really like to measure it this way. If you really want me to give a specific assessment, I would say he’s a little over 80% but not quite 90 per cent,” said Shum.

“In fact, he doesn’t need to be in top form right now, because our main goals are the following two races. For his next race on Friday, we don’t need to push him too hard. This race is mainly to prepare him for the next two bigger targets.

“The main thing is to let Romantic Warrior get used to the track here. Although James McDonald is the world’s best jockey, this is his first time riding in Dubai. Both the jockey and the horse are here for the first time, so they need time to adapt.

“On Monday James showed his professionalism. He inspected the turf track and jogged on it. He does the same thing when he rides at Sha Tin racecourse. He’s a very professional jockey.”

Taking him on is Charlie Appleby’s Measured Time, the course record holder over the nine-furlong trip and winner of this race last year.

Karl Burke’s Royal Ascot winner Holloway Boy, Charlie Hills’ Ancient Rome and the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Poker Face are other names UK racegoers will recognise.

Elsewhere on the card is the UAE 2000 Guineas, where the Heart Of Honor is an interesting runner for Jamie Osborne after two wins already at Meydan, and the Al Maktoum Challenge in which the high-class French runner Facteur Cheval has his first outing on dirt.

Trainer Jerome Reynier said: “The plan was to send him to Dubai for the winter and try him on dirt before the big race (Saudi Cup). He’s training really well on the surface, but it will be a very different scenario with the rhythm and the kick-back and everything.

“If he copes with conditions he will go for the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup, but if he’s not in the first three he’ll go for the Singspiel Stakes on Super Saturday and then the Dubai Turf.”