Romantic Warrior seeking Turf triumph after Saudi Cup eclipse

Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior is a red-hot favourite to bounce back from his agonising Saudi Cup defeat in the Dubai Turf at Meydan on Saturday.

Danny Shum’s pride and joy is the dominant force in his homeland and has also enjoyed Group One success in Australia and Japan during his glittering career.

The seven-year-old stepped into the unknown when tackling dirt for the first time in Riyadh on his most recent appearance and while he looked the likely winner after engaging overdrive to accelerate clear off the home bend, he was run down late in the day by Japan’s Forever Young in what was an epic finish.

Romantic Warrior had previously made a successful Dubai debut when sprinting clear in the Jebel Hatta and similar will be expected over the same course and distance this weekend.

“He’s looking incredible, he’s fine and happy and ready to go,” Shum said this week.

“It (Saudi Cup) was a really tough race, but it’s hard to tell you (how much it took out of him) until his next race because he’s a horse who won’t tell you anything in a morning and he always feels good. On a raceday, he will tell you.

“He was beaten by the best horse in the world on the dirt and it was his first start on the dirt. Maybe he can improve and next season he can have another go at the Saudi Cup.

“I am really thankful to the horse and his owner Peter (Lau Pak Fai). I’m lucky that he gave me, my stable and the Hong Kong fans the chance to take Romantic Warrior all over the world and get some results. I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”

Romantic Warrior’s rivals include Clive Cox’s Ghostwriter, who makes his first appearance since finishing fifth in last season’s Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, Charlie Appleby’s course-and-distance winner Nations Pride and last year’s Dubai Turf hero Facteur Cheval, who is back on the grass to defend his title after finishing seventh in the Saudi Cup.

Facteur Cheval’s trainer Jerome Reynier said: “He looks amazing and he really feels at home here in Dubai. It’s a different way of prepping for the Turf this year because he’s been based here for three months and we’re very happy with the way he’s training and behaving.

“He hasn’t seen the turf for a long time as he’s been running on the dirt this year and we just want him to have the extra motivation to be back on turf on the day. That’s why he hasn’t been exercising on the turf and he’s really happy to be working on the dirt here.

“He’s fully fit and we just need to keep him fresh and happy.”

The first of five Group Ones on Dubai World Cup night is the Al Quoz Sprint, which unsurprisingly features a strong British contingent, headed by George Boughey’s top-class mare Believing.

The five-year-old was sold to a partnership of Coolmore and Resolute Racing for three million guineas in December and Boughey is excited ahead of her return.

He said: “Believing shipped over to Dubai as well as we could have possibly imagined. She’s a filly who has obviously been quite busy and had her passport out the last couple of years, so travelling has come as second nature to her.

“It’s been the plan for a long time and she’s had a faultless preparation through the spring and we’ll look forward to seeing how she gets on on Saturday evening.”

Marco Botti’s Hong Kong Vase winner Giavellotto, Appleby’s globetrotting ace Rebel’s Romance and Francis-Henri Graffard’s Juddmonte International and Champion Stakes runner-up Calandagan all feature in a fascinating renewal of the Dubai Sheema Classic.

Botti said: “There’s no doubt it is a strong field, but for that prize-money it is to be expected.

“I think this is a stronger field than Hong Kong, you’ve got the Japanese horses, the Aga Khan’s horse (Calandagan) and Rebel’s Romance, they are all top class, so I do think it’s going to be harder to win, but he runs well fresh and we know he likes the track.

“He’s definitely stronger than he’s been before and I think he’s proved he’s a mile-and-a-half horse.”