Moonee Valley has hand-delivered an invitation to the Hong Kong connections of Romantic Warrior in a bid to coax the group 1 star back to Melbourne to defend his Cox Plate crown.
The Valley’s head of racing Charlotte Mills met with Romantic Warrior’s owner Peter Lau and trainer Danny Shum during the Champions Day race meeting at Sha Tin last month.
James McDonald after winning the 2023 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Romantic Warrior.Credit: Racing Photos / Getty Images
If Lau and Shum agree to return to Australian shores with their seven-time group 1 winner, it would set up a mouth-watering weight-for-age title fight with the new queen of the Australian turf Pride Of Jenni.
Adding spice to the potential showdown would be the inclusion of Chris Waller’s highly rated import Via Sistina, a former UK galloper that finished second to front-running wonder mare Pride Of Jenni in last month’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.
Jockey James McDonald won his second Cox Plate last year on Hong Kong raider Romantic Warrior when they beat home the gallant Mr Brightside by a nose.
McDonald and Romantic Warrior have since won three 2000-metre group 1 races in Hong Kong, including their third QE II Cup at Sha Tin last month.
“We’d love to see the Cox Plate winner come back and defend their title,” Moonee Valley CEO Michael Browell told this masthead.
“But we are also starting to engage other key international runners, to see if we can get them.”
One international high on the Valley’s watch list is Japanese runner Prognosis, a middle-distance star who ran second to Romantic Warrior in the QE II Cup.
Three internationals have won the Cox Plate in the past 10 years – Joseph O’Brien’s State Of Rest in 2021, Japanese mare Lys Gracieux in 2019 and Aidan O’Brien’s Adelaide in 2014.
Hong Kong trainer Danny Shum raises a fist to celebrate Romantic Warrior’s Cox Plate win. Credit: Racing photos/getty
If six-year-old Romantic Warrior were to return in October, it would create an agonising choice for McDonald, a regular rider for Chris Waller who also partnered Via Sistina during the Sydney autumn carnival.
He and several jockeys were caught napping by Pride Of Jenni’s freewheeling tactics in the Queen Elizabeth and would be seeking a rematch.
“I would caution to say they would let her get 30 lengths in front of them around Moonee Valley,” Browell said.
McDonald has ridden Romantic Warrior in six of his seven group 1 victories and is planning to partner the Hong Kong horse in Japan’s group 1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) in June.
“Yes [I’ll be going to Japan], it will be my second time there,” McDonald told the South China Morning Post last month.
McDonald, who first rode Romantic Warrior in November 2022, was in awe of the gelding after they won their third consecutive QEII Cup at Sha Tin last month.
“He was beaten at the 600m, he just finds a way. It’s incredible,” he said.
“I deadset didn’t have one thing go my way. I had 10 riders deadset against me and the horse. I just had no favours.
“At the 600m, he was off the bridle and struggling in the ground a tad, and he just picks up. I’m just in disbelief.”
Shum and Lau are still mapping out Romantic Warrior’s calendar year beyond a trip to Japan.
