A burst of speed over the final 200 meters carried Romantic Warrior to a half-length victory over Namur in the 74th running of the Yasuda Kinen. Published on By Hong Kong's delivered a powerful performance as race favorite to triumph in the on Sunday, June 2 at Tokyo Racecourse. As a result, he extended his Grade 1 winning streak to five.
And it was his eighth victory overall at this level. Romantic Warrior's G1 resume includes three consecutive Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2,000 meters) victories from 2022-24. It also features back-to-back Hong Kong Cup (2,000 meters) titles in 2022 and 2023, the Cox Plate (2,040 meters) in 2023 and the Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000 meters) in 2024.
The Acclamation progeny becomes the fourth foreign winner of the 1,600-meter Yasuda Kinen following Heart Lake (1995) and Hong Kong's Fairy King Prawn (2000) and Bullish Luck (2006). For trainer Chap Shing Shum and jockey James McDonald, the Yasuda Kinen victory is the first win in Japan for both of them. It's also Romantic Warrior's first G1 win in a mile race.
The 74th running of Yasuda Kinen began with (Yuji Hishida's ride) taking the leading spot and (Kosei Miura) pressing the pace on the outside. Romantic Warrior, breaking from stall seven, was settled comfortably in sixth and two-wide. The multiple G1 champion struggled briefly for room in the early stretch.
But once a clear path opened in front of him around 300 meters out, the son of Acclamation found his stride. He took command at the 200-meter p.