James McDonald

'Warrior' Comes Out To Play In the Yasuda Kinen

A plan was hatched by owner Peter Lau and trainer Danny Shum as early as last June to set their multiple champion Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) on a course towards the G1 W S Cox Plate in Melbourne some four months later. Having departed Hong Kong in mid-September, the gelding endured a sub-optimal period in quarantine at Werribee until the Australian government approved the shipment of his regular feed from Hong Kong to Victoria and Romantic Warrior was an underdone fourth in the G1 Turnbull S. at Caulfield Oct....

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Romantic Warrior Looks To Cap Fairy Tale Season In Yasuda Kinen

Peter Lau's Hong Kong raider Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) can put the wraps on one of the most remarkable seasons in recent memory should he be able to take out Sunday's G1 Yasuda Kinen Sunday afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse. The one-turn, 1600-metre contest serves as a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at California's Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in early November. Nails-tough in dropping his nose down on the wire first when second-up in the G1 W S Cox Plate in late October, the...

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Romantic Warrior Gets Green Light For Yasuda Kinen

Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), who recently overcame a difficult trip and soggy underfoot conditions to win the G1 FWD QE II Cup (2000m) for the third consecutive year, will cut back to a mile for the June 2 G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse, trainer Danny Shum confirmed Friday. "He will go to Japan," Shum told the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Leo Schlink. "He will leave around the 21st of May," and the conditioner is of the opinion that Romantic Warrior's recovery from the QE II Cup merits the...

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Romantic Warrior Outduels Prognosis In the FWD QE II Cup

HONG KONG, CHINA -- With one Hong Kong legend on his way to retirement, Peter Lau's Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) took another step towards cementing his own legacy, becoming the first to take the G1 FWD QE II Cup on three occasions under a masterful steer from James McDonald. Three deep into the first turn from a high draw, Romantic Warrior was hung out to dry without cover before McDonald tapped on the brakes just enough to allow the 6-year-old to slot in on the back of Sword Point...

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Ryan Moore To Ride Storm Boy In Golden Slipper, James McDonald On Switzerland

Ryan Moore, number one jockey for Coolmore in the Northern Hemisphere, has been booked to ride exciting Justify colt Storm Boy (Aus) in the upcoming G1 Golden Slipper on Mar. 23, Coolmore Australia announced on X early Thursday morning. Fellow unbeaten Coolmore-owned colt Switzerland (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), a winner of the G2 Todman S. on Mar. 9, will be the mount of James McDonald. Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Storm Boy rattled off victories at Rosehill on debut in early December, followed by the G3 BJ McLachlan S....

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Lucky Sweynesse Looks To Bounce Back in QSJC

Having endured a sub-optimal trip when only sixth to Victor the Winner (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}) in defence of his crown in the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup Jan. 26--not to mention some post-race veterinary issues--reigning champion sprinter Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse {Aus}) will look to atone for that effort in Sunday's G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, a race he also took out 12 months ago. The 5-year-old, victorious in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint in December, was found to be lame in his right fore the morning after the Centenary...

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Romantic Warrior Strikes 'Gold' In Epic Clash Of Derby Winners

Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) became just the third horse since the turn of the century to capture each of the four 2000-metre features in Hong Kong, as he outbattled fellow BMW Hong Kong Derby winner Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}) in an epic renewal of the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse Sunday afternoon. The 6-year-old joins Vengeance of Rain (NZ) and Designs on Rome (Ire) as the only horses since 2000 to win the Derby, Gold Cup, G1 FWD QE II Cup and...

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Romantic Warrior Front and Centre In Hong Kong Gold Cup

Seven times has Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) gone to post over the 2000 metres at Sha Tin Racecourse and on six of those occasions, he has proved victorious, more times than not in convincing fashion. His lone blemish over the course and distance came in the 2023 G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup, when he was run down close home by multiple Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) as the odds-on pop, but barring something unforeseen, Romantic Warrior should be righting that wrong against 10 others...

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Voyage Bubble 'Bursts' Onto Scene In Stewards' Cup

Make no mistake. Even a sidelined Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) remains the king of the hill among Hong Kong milers, if not the entire planet. The 8-year-old showed he still had plenty to give with a remarkable first-up performance from a terrible draw in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile Dec. 10, and the horse he beat that day, Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}), showed that his effort was anything but a one-off, outlasting Beauty Eternal (Aus) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in Sunday's G1 Stewards' Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse....

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Stewards' Cup Offers 'Golden' Opportunity

Death, taxes and Hong Kong winners by Deep Field (Aus). Of life's surest eventualities, the latter is definitely worthy of inclusion, and Voyage Bubble (Aus) will look to add to the stallion's impressive local record when he goes in search of a maiden Group 1 success in the G1 Stewards' Cup Sunday at Sha Tin. The chances of Voyage Bubble--and those of his seven rivals--have been done no damage by the absence of G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile hero Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), who is on the mend and...

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'Truly Remarkable' Longines HKIR Gives Fans Everything They Could Ask For

Officials at the Hong Kong Jockey Club could offer their devoted fans only limited access to the Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting from 2020 to 2022, a necessity attributable to the Coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, and while the attendance restrictions were gradually eased over the next few years, there were certain parameters and restrictions in place to ensure the show would go on. With things more or less back to normal in the SAR, the patrons--a reported 65,252 of them--poured through the Sha Tin turnstiles Sunday afternoon to...

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Romantic Warrior Holds Off Luxembourg To Defend Hong Kong Cup

Six weeks after dropping his nose down on the line ahead of Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars {Aus}) to win the G1 Cox Plate in Melbourne, Peter Lau's ROMANTIC WARRIOR (IRE) (g, 5, Acclamation {GB}--Folk Melody {Ire}, by Street Cry {Ire}) was the 13-10 favourite to go back-to-back in Sunday's G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin and held off a stubborn late rally from Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Hishi Iguazu (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) to prevail by a head. Perfectly placed in fourth by James McDonald, who flew...

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