Horse racing news: Royal Champion takes on Romantic Warrior, Masquerade Ball in FWD QEII Cup

Karl Burke’s Royal Champion will head to Hong Kong for a showdown with local superstar Romantic Warrior and Japanese duo Masquerade Ball and Museum Mile on FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin on Sunday 26 April.

Royal Champion defeated quality opposition to win the 2026 G1 Neom Turf Cup, including Group 1 winner Facteur Cheval, and the well-travelled eight-year-old makes his way to Sha Tin to contest the HK$30 million G1 FWD QEII Cup (1m2f/2000m) in some career-best form for trainer Burke.

International representation is at a high in the FWD QEII Cup this year, where Danny Shum’s Romantic Warrior comes up against some of the most in-form and imposing opposition he’s ever faced in the 10-furlong test at Sha Tin, namely Masquerade Ball, Royal Champion, Museum Mile, Sosie, June Take, Andreas Vesalius, and Giovanni.

Shadai Stallion Station’s iconic yellow and black colours placed in the past three FWD QEII Cups with Prognosis, and this year Group 1 winner Masquerade Ball carries their silks, who finished second to Calandagan in the 2025 G1 Japan Cup.  

Ensued, Rubylot, Numbers, Stormy Grove, and Gentlemen Legacy complete the FWD QEII Cup line-up.

Romantic Warrior holds the global earnings record (HK$254.66m) and has the most Group 1 wins (13) by a Hong Kong–trained horse, and the brilliant Hong Kong International Sale graduate will try to become the first four-time winner of the FWD QEII Cup after previous triumphs in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Docklands confirmed for third Hong Kong run

Docklands is no stranger to Sha Tin, having finished down the field in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile on his first trip to Hong Kong in 2024 and considerably better last year in the same race when finishing fourth behind winner Voyage Bubble.

This will be the Harry Eustace–trained six-year-old’s first run on FWD Champions Day as he contests the HK$24m (approx. £2.2m) G1 FWD Champions Mile (1 mile/1600m).

Only two internationals – Maurice (2016) and Variety Club (2014) – have won the Champions Mile since 2000.

Alongside Docklands, Jantar Mantar and Strauss ship to Sha Tin to face Group 1 winners Voyage Bubble, Red Lion, and Lucky Sweynesse plus recent 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby hero Invincible Ibis.

Four-time Group 1 winner Jantar Mantar – victor of the 2023 G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, 2024 G1 NHK Mile Cup, 2025 G1 Yasuda Kinen, and 2025 G1 Mile Championship – who is also raced by Shadai Stallion Station, will try to lift his stature as one of the world’s best milers in the FWD Champions Mile.

Triple Crown winner Voyage Bubble, last year’s winner Red Lion, Galaxy Patch, My Wish, Cap Ferrat, Sunlight Power, Chancheng Glory, Copartner Prance, and Little Paradise complete the FWD Champions Mile line-up.

Patch Of Theta, Beauty Joy, and Stormy Grove are the standby starters.

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Native Approach takes on Ka Ying Rising

Last-start G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner Native Approach has been supplemented for the HK$24m (approx. £2.2m) G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (6f/1200m) and heads to Sha Tin following his career-high win last month for trainer Ahmad bin Harmash, where he will take on the world’s highest-rated horse, Ka Ying Rising.

Record-breaking sprinter Ka Ying Rising will chase a second Chairman’s Sprint Prize crown when he lines up searching for his 20th consecutive win, a record previously held by Silent Witness – who won 17 successive races – for a Hong Kong–trained horse.

David Hayes’ Hong Kong Horse of the Year (2024/25), first in the March edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings ahead of Romantic Warrior, can capture a second Hong Kong Speed Series bonus (HK$5m) if he is successful again.

Sha Tin’s 1200m (1m 07.12s) and 1400m (1m 19.36s) course record holder, Ka Ying Rising, is currently on a 19-race winning streak and faces familiar foe Satono Reve once again, who has twice placed in top-level races behind the eight-time Group 1 winner.

Noriyuki Hori has excelled at Sha Tin with six Group 1 wins at the track, and Satono Reve represents him following a last-start G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) score – his second in succession.

Donnacha O’Brien’s Comanche Brave travels to Sha Tin having raced in four separate jurisdictions previously. He was third last time out in the G2 1351 Turf Sprint (1351m) behind Reef Runner and Lazzat, respectively.

Helios Express, Fast Network, Raging Blizzard, Tomodachi Kokoroe, Beauty Waves, Lucky With You, and Colourful King complete the Chairman’s Sprint Prize line-up.

Competing for a record HK$78m (approx. £7.4m) in prize money across the HK$30m (approx. £2.9m) G1 FWD QEII Cup (1m2f/2000m), HK$24m (approx. £2.2m) G1 FWD Champions Mile (1 mile/1600m), and HK$24m (approx. £2.2m) G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (6f/1200m), FWD Champions Day’s top-level features include 13 individual Group 1 winners amongst 38 selected runners (excluding reserves).

Andrew Harding, executive director of racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “FWD Champions Day is always an outstanding day of racing, and we are delighted at the quality of the 2026 renewal.

“We have 13 visitors from overseas, including Masquerade Ball and Royal Champion, who will test the mighty Romantic Warrior in what shapes as one the FWD QEII Cup’s best renewals.

“Ka Ying Rising has won 19 races in a row, and his continued streak adds an increasing layer of excitement.

“In addition, our exciting four-year-olds will rise to the Group 1 challenge, including Invincible Ibis, Little Paradise, and Stormy Grove.”

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