Romantic Thor almost certainly earned a tilt at the HK$13 million G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) after the Irish import revelled in rain-affected conditions to claim the HK$4.2 million G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (3 May).
Given a perfectly judged ride, Romantic Thor (116lb) led throughout to defeat Gentlemen Legacy (129lb) by half a length with Winning Wing (135lb), one-and-a-quarter lengths further back in third in 2m 30.76s to triumph for the first time in Hong Kong.
Formerly known as Capulet when trained by Aidan O’Brien in Ireland, the Justify gelding won the Listed Dee Stakes (2064m) at Chester in 2024 but struggled to adapt to Hong Kong conditions and battled injuries, prompting trainer Danny Shum to plot a conservative path.
Shum’s patience paid off in spectacular fashion as the five-year-old scythed through yielding conditions to earn a PP bonus of HK$1.5 million and the chance at Group 1 company – alongside 14-time Group 1-winning stablemate Romantic Warrior, who is chasing a HK$10 million Triple Crown bonus after wins in the G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) and G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m).
Shum was delighted with Romantic Thor’s performance under jockey Matthew Poon.
“Today he was the front runner – and also put on the fence – he got all the advantages. He’s lightweight, he can go in front, he can control the pace. So, he had everything to benefit on his hand.
“Matthew, he controlled the pace fantastic. I always say Matthew is a very good jockey. I think he will (go to the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup) – it’d be nice to have two runners in it.”
Poon and Shum combined to win the Queen Mother Memorial Cup with Butterfield in 2021.
“Danny and I knew he could do this (win over 2400m) and today he carried a light weight and he loved the track conditions. Before the race we had confidence he would show something and we’re glad he did,” Poon said.
“I didn’t feel like he was stopping at any stage and after the 1000m, I asked him to increase the speed gradually and he was able to continue to the winning post. He was not going to be easy to catch for the other horses because they were also spending energy.
“So, the race worked out pretty much as we expected and we’re very happy it did. Danny has given me a second Group 3 in the same race – Danny is a brilliant trainer and I’m so glad to ride this winner for him.”
Poon completed a race-to-race double when Ricky Yiu’s Volcanic Spark (125lb) charged late to land the Class 4 Beas River Country Club Handicap (1800m).
John Size continued to edge his way up the 2025/26 trainers’ championship standings with a double, joining forces with Andrea Atzeni to score with Sky Jewellery (119lb) in the Class 2 Members Cup Handicap (1600m) and Enthusium (123lb) in the Class 3 Conghua Racecourse Handicap (2000m).
Sky Jewellery claimed a PPG bonus of HK$1 million, while Enthusium earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million for his connections, while Size praised Sky Jewellery’s toughness and class.
“He’s always shown and promised to do this sort of thing, and he’s never let us down. That’s what good horses do – they overcome adversity. That’s how they identify themselves immediately,” he said.
Size’s brace left the 13-time Hong Kong champion trainer with 43 wins for the campaign to trail Mark Newnham (51), Caspar Fownes (50), Danny Shum (50), David Hayes (48) and Francis Lui (45) with 20 meetings left in the season.
Newnham maintained the championship lead with the win of Incredible Moment (121lb) for Richard Kingscote in the Class 4 The Hilltop In The Valley Handicap (1200m), while Atzeni continued an outstanding season with the win of Lui-trained Baby Sakura (118lb) in the Class 3 Shenzhen Centre Handicap (1400m).
“I think he can be a (Hong Kong) Classic Mile (1600m) horse for next season – it’s an exciting time and it’s a race everyone wants to win,” Lui said before closing the meeting with the win of Turquoise Velocity (130lb) in the Class 3 Beijing Clubhouse Handicap (1200m) to fan hopes of a second trainers’ title.
“It’s a really tight championship; all of the top six could win it and John Size, too,” he said.
Triumphant Warrior (114lb) led throughout for Jamie Richards and Nichola Yuen to land the Class 5 Celebrating Our Shared Champion Sprint Handicap (1200m) before Chris So teamed with James Orman, who lifted Malpensa (129lb) to a narrow victory in the Class 4 Ownership Pride Handicap (1200m).
Zac Purton piloted View All Things (133lb) to success in the Class 5 Racing Heritage Handicap (1400m) for Cody Mo, who believes the Pride Of Dubai gelding has scope for improvement.
“This horse was a roarer before, and then was very lucky after surgery and he recovered very well. This horse is not a Class 5 horse – it is just the health problem that has stopped his performance,” he said.
“Now after roarer surgery, which has been successful, everything’s going okay and I think he will get more wins. He’s good enough in Class 4, maybe higher.”
Mo sealed a double with Flying Knight (129lb) under Karis Teetan in the Class 4 Sha Tin Clubhouse Handicap (1400m).
Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Wednesday night (6 May).