Hong Kong's two greatest racehorses delivered yet again on Sunday, Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior headlining a sensational FWD Champions Day in which local horses swept all three Group 1 races at Sha Tin.
Crowds chanted their names and waved banners as Ka Ying Rising kicked clear to win his 20th consecutive race, breaking his own 1,200-meter course record in the Chairman's Sprint Prize. But the roar may have been even louder when Romantic Warrior sent the railside fans into delirium by defeating highly credentialed Japanese raider Masquerade Ball by a length in the FWD QEII Cup.
Fans held plush toys in the likeness of Danny Shum's eight-year-old above their heads as the trainer whipped the crowd into a frenzy after the race. Winning jockey James McDonald then did the same, chants of "J-Mac" echoing around the grandstand.
The victory was Romantic Warrior's record fourth straight QEII Cup – he already held the record for most wins with three – and his 14th at Group 1 level, pushing his career earnings beyond HK$271 million, another record extended.
"I don't tell him he is eight years old, I tell him he is five only," Shum said. "He is a super, super, super champion."
Ka Ying Rising's trainer David Hayes, already a hall of fame inductee in his homeland of Australia, has the greatest horse he has ever trained in his keep and marveled at his sprinter's dominance.
"In the year of the horse, he is one of the all-time greats now," Hayes said. "You pinch yourself to have a horse of this class."
Jockey Zac Purton called Ka Ying Rising "a really special one" and said he was enjoying every moment.
My Wish won the FWD Champions Mile for trainer Mark Newnham's first Group 1 in Hong Kong and ensured a clean sweep of the features for Hong Kong-trained horses.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
