Japan: Romantic Warrior tries one mile in Yasuda Kinen

A four-race winning streak is nothing new for Romantic Warrior, the Hong Kong-based gelding who will be favored to win his Japanese debut at Tokyo Racecourse in Sunday’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen Stakes at a mile.

Earlier in his career, Romantic Warrior reeled off five consecutive wins in Hong Kong in 2021 and 2022, finished fourth, and then won four consecutive starts later in 2022.

What makes the current winning streak different is the quality of the competition. A 6-year-old Irish-bred gelding, Romantic Warrior has won Group 1 races in Australia and Hong Kong since last fall, notably the Cox Plate at 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne last October, and the Hong Kong Cup at 1 1/4 miles by a head over Luxembourg at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong last December.

The form of the Hong Kong Cup looked even better after Luxembourg won the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom Racecourse in Britain on Friday.

The $2.2 million Yasuda Kinen will be Romantic Warrior’s first start at a mile since a second by a length to Golden Sixty in the Group 1 Stewards’ Cup at Sha Tin in January 2023. Golden Sixty has been Horse of the Year in Hong Kong three times for seasons ending from 2021 through 2023.

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Romantic Warrior, who typically runs from slightly off the pace, last won at a mile in the Hong Kong Classic for 4-year-olds in January 2022, the last of his five-race winning streak.

Trained by Danny Shum, Romantic Warrior, a winner of 14 of 19 starts, is attempting to become the first foreign-based horse to win the Yasuda Kinen since Bullish Luck of Hong Kong in 2006. There have been 23 subsequent international starters, including Bullish Luck, who finished 14th in 2008, but none since 2018. The race is popular with Hong Kong shippers.

The Yasuda Kinen drew a field of 17 and may have implications on American racing later this year. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 2, provided the horse has been nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program.

Sunday’s race has one other Hong Kong-based runner in the outsider Voyage Bubble, who was second by a neck to Romantic Warrior in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin in February. Voyage Bubble was later third in the Group 1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin on April 28. Romantic Warrior won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles on the same program.

Serifos and Soul Rush, second and ninth in the 2023 Yasuda Kinen, are rated as the top Japanese-based runners for Sunday’s race. Soul Rush and Serifos were first and second in the Grade 2 Yomiuri Milers Cup at Kyoto on April 21 in the first start of the year for both.

Namur, a 5-year-old mare, has had mixed form in her last several starts. She won the Grade 1 Mile Championship at Kyoto last November. Earlier this spring, Namur was second by a nose in the Group 1 Dubai Turf in the United Arab Emirates in March, but only eighth in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares at Tokyo on May 12 after a poor start.

Post time for the Yasuda Kinen is 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 a.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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