Romantic Charm runs fourth at wintry Geelong, Romantic Warrior continues Cox Plate preparation
He could not quite get the week off to a winning start for connections, but Romantic Charm produced an effort at Geelong on Wednesday that has trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing confident the five-year-old can taste success in Hong Kong later this season.
With owner Peter Lau Pak-fai watching at a cold and wet Geelong Racecourse, Romantic Charm ran on solidly for fourth under star Kiwi jockey James McDonald after drifting heavily in betting ahead of his first run since July.
“With a long time between races and no trial, what do you expect? It was OK. I think he can win races in Hong Kong,” Shum said of Romantic Charm’s effort in the Brandt Colac BM70 Handicap (1,700m).
Second in a Class Three 1,400m contest at Sha Tin in July, Romantic Charm was sent off at $7.50 for his first Australian run since his pre-import victory in the 2021 Group Two Sandown Guineas (1,600m), and he finished 2.3 lengths off Ben, Will & JD Hayes-trained victor Reset The Jazz.
Romantic Charm’s primary purpose in Australia is, of course, to be superstar Romantic Warrior’s travelling companion. The two horses will fly back to Hong Kong on Monday, and after they have completed two weeks of quarantine, Shum will find a suitable race for Romantic Charm.
“He ran super over 1,400m at the end of last season, and he can run 1,800m, 2,000m,” Shum said.
Typically, the Jockey Club would not permit a Hong Kong horse to run in a benchmark race like the one Romantic Charm contested, with Shum thanking officials for allowing his charge to blow off the cobwebs.
“According to the Hong Kong Jockey Club rules, we can’t race because we have to enter Listed or Group races, so I’m very happy they gave me the green light. He deserved to have a race in Australia,” Shum said, adding he is happy with how Romantic Warrior is tracking ahead of Saturday’s Group One Cox Plate (2,040m).
Romantic Warrior has remained favourite for the prestigious contest since drawing barrier seven at Tuesday morning’s barrier draw at Moonee Valley.
The three-time Group One winner will canter under work rider Gary Lau at Werribee early on Thursday morning.
“Romantic Warrior is in good shape, good form. He’ll just canter tomorrow with Gary,” Shum said.
The main event at Geelong on Wednesday was the Group Three Geelong Cup (2,400m), with Phillip Stokes-trained outsider Amade prevailing.
