Though the world was never able to see champion miler Golden Sixty in his prime, Romantic Warrior is making up for lost time by flying the Hong Kong flag in Australia, where he won the Cox Plate last year, then returning home and getting back to his winning ways, and, on Sunday in Tokyo, taking out the prestigious Yasuda Kinen in front of very probably the most passionate horse racing fans in the world.
Here’s a fabulous country that has had to rebuild itself and created a culture that is uniquely theirs and which has been accepted by the world- its technology, fashion, design, art, cuisine, animation etc.
On the weekend, this unique country showed how much Japanese racing fans respected the win of Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior and the team behind him- trainer Danny Shum and those in his team, New Zealand jockey James McDonald and owner Mr Lau Pak-fai, who made that final decision to travel and take on whatever equine talent and competition Japan might have to offer.
Japan’s Namur and Soul Rush did their best, but it wasn’t good enough. The confident Romantic Warrior dug in deep on a rainy day and made it look almost too easy.
Prize money aside, one doubts very much that Hong Kong racing will ever see another champion like the six year old Romantic Warrior.
What’s next for him?
Time will tell though one would think that racing to retain the Cox Plate will be on the cards though, quite frankly, at a time when Hong Kong as a city needs it most, it’s taken a race horse to give what it needs most- Hope.
Comments