Former Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior carved out another slice of history for himself with a gallant win in the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday. The Acclamation gelding became only the third horse to sweep the Hong Kong Triple Crown after River Verdon (1993/94) and Voyage Bubble (2024/2025) in the process.The biggest question hovering over the eventual winner in the lead up to the race was the 2400-metre distance. Although Sunday was the 31st start of his career, Romantic Warrior had only raced over a distance greater than 2040 metres once, good for a second-place finish to Russian Emperor (Galileo) as the crowd's pick in the 2023 edition of this race.Sent off at 1-10 to claim a record-extending 15th Group 1 by a Hong Kong horse on Sunday, Romantic Warrior took a sit in third under James McDonald at the bell. Firmly held behind a slow pace set by Romantic Thor (Justify) who raced ahead of Numbers (Tivaci), the favourite dropped back to fourth when passed by Deep Monster (Deep Impact) entering the first turn.The first 1200 metres was covered in 1:16.07 by Romantic Thor, with both Numbers and Deep Monster chafing at the glacial pace and refusing to settle. Meanwhile, McDonald maintained the eventual winner in a relaxed fourth one path off the fence, just in front of Rousham Park (Harbinger) to his inside. Numbers took over from Romantic Thor just after a mile in 1:40.72 and the pace quickened from there.Romantic Warrior cruised up to Deep Monster's girth just before the 400-metre mark and took dead aim on the top pair, five lengths in front. Romantic Thor refused to buckle while pressed by Numbers, but Romantic Warrior had built up a full head of steam 300 metres from home and was within hailing distance. The chalk gained the lead from a stubborn Numbers at the 50-metre mark and beat that rival by a half-length at the wire, covering his final 400 metres in :22.77. Numbers was 1 1/2 lengths to the good of Deep Monster, who encountered a touch of traffic trouble at the furlong grounds to be third.Currently the world-record prize-money holder, the victory handed the Peter Lau silksbearer another HK$10 million for the Triple Crown Bonus on top of HK$7.28 million for crossing the wire first, bringing his lifetime earnings to HK$288.7 million (£27,429,467/€31,760,536/US$36,845,620). Romantic Warrior won the G1 Stewards' Cup and the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup, the first two legs of the Hong Kong Triple Crown in January and March, respectively. He'd also put his stamp the G1 FWD QEII Cup over 2000 metres last out in April.Trainer Danny Shum said, “I'm such a lucky guy, lucky trainer – because I can train Romantic Warrior.“Before the race we already set up the plan – put him to sleep, let him relax, and try to hit the front. He hit the line in the last 400m, so James has done a great job, he's top-class jockey.”He added, “The plan is to give him a break. I will think about whether to send him to Conghua, same as Ka Ying Rising – Ka Ying Rising is very happy [there]. So, I might send him to Conghua, give him a little break, and then see how he goes.“We're happy because we have a very good team and stable. Peter [Lau] always makes the right decisions and James McDonald is a very good jockey.”McDonald said, “He's a Triple Crown winner, he thoroughly deserved it. I read an article, the boss [Winfried Englebrecht-Bresges's CEO blog] said he was already an immortal and I totally agree with him.“He didn't need to win this to be that. I think this is the cherry on top–he should be Horse of the Year this year and I think he stamped that by winning the Triple Crown.”Pedigree NotesThe most decorated runner for his late sire, the winner is one of 68 stakes winners for Acclamation. A total of 32 of them are graded/group winners, with seven Group 1 scorers sprinkled among them. Former British and Irish Champion Sire Dark Angel is bred on a similar cross to Romantic Warrior, as he is out of a Machiavellian mare.A half-brother to the stakes-placed End Of Romance, Romantic Warrior is a grandson of GI E. P. Taylor Stakes heroine Folk Opera (Singspiel), who also claimed the G2 Prix Jean Romanet. He is also kin to European Group 1 scorers Proportional (Beat Hollow) and St. Hilarion (Sir Ivor).Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong KongSTANDARD CHARTERED CHAMPIONS & CHATER CUP-G1, HK$13,000,000, Sha Tin, 5-24, NH/SH4yo, 2400mT, 2:26.67, gd/fm.1–ROMANTIC WARRIOR (IRE), 126, g, 8, by Acclamation (GB) 1st Dam: Folk Melody (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire) 2nd Dam: Folk Opera (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire) 3rd Dam: Skiphall (GB), by Halling(300,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT; HK$4,800,000 HRA '21 HKIS). O-Peter Lau Pak Fai. B-Corduff Stud & T J Rooney (Ire). T-Danny CS Shum. J-James McDonald. HK$7,280,000. Lifetime Record:HotY-HK, CH. 4yo & 4x Ch. Middle Distance Horse-HK, G1SW-Aus, Jpn & UAE, G1SP-KSA, 31-24-5-0, HK$36,845,620. *1/2 toEnd Of Romance (Ire) (Showcasing {GB}), SP-US. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.2–Numbers (NZ), 126, g, 4, Tivaci (Aus)–Sheezababe (NZ), byZabeel (NZ). O-23/24 Frankie Lor Fu Chuen Trainer Syndicate.B-P Hay & Waikato Stud (NZ). T-Frankie C Lor. J-K Leung.HK$2,730,000.3–Deep Monster (Jpn), 126, h, 8, Deep Impact (Jpn)–SisterlyLove, by Bellamy Road. *1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-DMMDream Club Co., Ltd. B-Yano Bokujo (Jpn). T-Yasutoshi Ikee. J-Joao Moreira. HK$1,495,000.Margins: HF, 1HF, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.10, 39.00, 10.00.Also Ran: Romantic Thor, Winning Wing (NZ), Rousham Park (Jpn), Ka Ying Generation (Ire), Gentlemen Legacy (Aus), Cap Ferrat (Aus). Click for the HKJC chart & video. You are incredible, Romantic Warrior!Globetrotter, x15 Group 1 wins, highest ever earning horse… and now you're the third horse to land the Hong Kong #TripleCrown with victory in the @StanChart Champions & Chater Cup at Sha Tin! @mcacajamez | #LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/NogzGtX37B— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) May 24, 2026The post Romantic Warrior Races Into History As Third Hong Kong Triple Crown Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.