J-Mac is back ... and Romantic Warrior is the main character of his short term stint

James McDonald is back in Hong Kong and hoping to return with a bang when he heads to Happy Valley on Wednesday.

The superstar jockey will begin his latest short-term contract, which runs until December 20, at the city track this evening when he takes a six-strong book on the nine-race card.

Fresh off his dominant Champion Stakes win on Via Sistina at the weekend, McDonald says he is hoping to taste immediate success at Happy Valley.

"I’m really looking forward to it and it’s nice to arrive back and get straight into the swing of things,” McDonald said at Sha Tin trackwork yesterday. "It was a great spring and to finish it off in the Champion Stakes with Via Sistina was special. We’re coming here in nice form and we’re looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

The prospect of a six-week battle between himself Zac Purton once again shapes as an exciting rivalry for Hong Kong racing fans, while the clash between Romantic Warrior and Voyage Bubble in the G2 Jockey Club Cup on November 23 marks another early highlight of McDonald’s stay.

“It’s always good to be here. It’s very competitive and there are always challenges,” McDonald said. “A fourth Hong Kong Cup is the main target. Being part of the build up with Romantic Warrior will be special, so I’m looking forward to that.”

More immediately, McDonald will hope to convert courtesy of his unsurprisingly strong book of rides at the city track on Wednesday.

He has delivered trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing success on the big stage with Romantic Warrior and McDonald will bid to do the same when he hops aboard Wrote A New Page in the eighth race of the card over 1,800 meters.

“He’s probably my best chance,” McDonald said of the four-year-old, who fell a short head short of victory behind Excellence Value on October 15.

McDonald also holds strong claims aboard Shum’s Foremost Teddy in the opening contest and the Pierre Ng Pang-chi-trained Quantum Patch in race four.