James McDonald says Romantic Warrior "should be Horse of the Year" after the champion completed a perfect season and Hong Kong's Triple Crown in Sunday's Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup at Sha Tin.
Ka Ying Rising, the David Hayes-trained sprinter who became the first overseas-trained horse to win The Everest and is unbeaten in eight starts this season, is widely expected to claim the title for a second straight year.
The decision rests with the Hong Kong Jockey Club's panel, and there is no wrong answer – Ka Ying Rising's case is built on an extraordinary winning streak and an international breakthrough at The Everest, while Romantic Warrior's rests on range, longevity and the kind of campaign that modern racing rarely sees.
But McDonald argued the Triple Crown winner's case could not be ignored.
"The boss said he is already an immortal and I totally agree with him – he didn't need to win this to be that," McDonald said. "He has put the cherry on top and he should be Horse of the Year this year, and he stamped that by winning the Triple Crown."
The debate is a rare luxury for Hong Kong racing – two horses with perfect seasons making compelling cases from opposite ends of the distance spectrum.
Ka Ying Rising's eight-from-eight campaign included a 20th consecutive victory in the Chairman's Sprint Prize on Champions Day and a historic Everest triumph. His sustained streak of dominance is without parallel in the jurisdiction's modern history.
But the Triple Crown asks a horse to win at 1,600 meters, 2,000 meters and 2,400 meters in the same campaign against international-class opposition – a test of versatility that only River Verdon and Voyage Bubble had previously passed. Romantic Warrior now has 15 Group 1 victories across four countries and world-record career earnings beyond HK$288 million.
McDonald will have time to reflect on the argument. The jockey faces a suspension after shifting in late in Sunday's race and cutting Deep Monster and Joao Moreira out of a run, an incident that took some gloss off an otherwise perfectly judged ride on the champion.
