![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/RW-G60-2-reduced-1024x683.jpg\")
ROMANTIC WARRIOR, GOLDEN SIXTY \/ G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup \/\/ Sha Tin \/\/\/ 2023 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\nPeople keep asking me the same question: who was better \u2013 Golden Sixty or Romantic Warrior?<\/p>\n
When they actually raced each other, there\u2019s not much argument. Golden Sixty was the better horse then. He beat Romantic Warrior at a mile in the 2023 Stewards\u2019 Cup, and beat him again next start in the Hong Kong Gold Cup at 2000 metres \u2013 Romantic Warrior\u2019s pet trip. No excuses, no pilot error. Golden Sixty just beat him fair and square.<\/p>\n
But what if they raced now? I\u2019m not so sure I\u2019d say the same thing anymore.<\/p>\n
Romantic Warrior is eight now, he\u2019s had leg surgery and in a sport where horses don\u2019t usually improve after seven, he\u2019s doing exactly that. I honestly believe he\u2019s better now than he was one, two or three years ago. His trials this season were better than ever. He\u2019s moving better. Maybe that leg problem had been bothering him for a while, because now he\u2019s racing like a horse with no pain.<\/p>\n
What I love about Romantic Warrior \u2013 and what separates the very best from the merely very good \u2013 is that as a jockey, you can do more with him in a race. He adapts. He doesn\u2019t need everything to go perfectly. The difference between a good horse and a truly great one is often the ability to adjust mid-race to whatever situation they are presented with.<\/p>\n
Golden Sixty was a champion too, don\u2019t get me wrong. But he had to be ridden a certain way \u2013 midfield to back, and you needed the race to unfold for him. He didn\u2019t have the advantage of being able to sit in the first two or three if you wanted. Romantic Warrior does. And that\u2019s huge in big races.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s Stewards\u2019 Cup was the perfect example. Voyage Bubble missed the start, Romantic Warrior jumped three-quarters of a length faster. That gave Romantic Warrior\u2019s jockey James McDonald the advantage. Voyage Bubble\u2019s jockey Zac Purton was then dictated to \u2013 he couldn\u2019t do anything. James waited to see how the race unfolded and when he realised he was three-wide and the pace wasn\u2019t too fast, he allowed Romantic Warrior to cruise forward and sit outside Lucky Sweynesse.<\/p>\n
Romantic Warrior did it without over-racing. A lot of horses can\u2019t do that. Only great horses can do that. He just switches off, saves energy \u2013 where a lot of horses will pull in that situation. That lets you put him where you need him. He doesn\u2019t find trouble. That\u2019s the big difference.<\/p>\n
It reminds me of the Australian champion Kingston Town \u2013 go watch a reply of his Sydney Cup win in 1980 \u2013 he was the type of horse that could make two or three different moves in a race and still finish it off. That\u2019s rare.<\/p>\n
ROMANTIC WARRIOR, GOLDEN SIXTY \/ G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup \/\/ Sha Tin \/\/\/ 2023 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
Before I get to my pick \u2013 why are people so afraid to have these discussions? I copped it when I said Ka Ying Rising would beat Black Caviar. Sections of the internet went wild, especially back in Australia. But what I said it wasn\u2019t disrespect. Black Caviar was a champion \u2013 unbeaten in 25 races, an all-time great. You\u2019re allowed to say that and still have an opinion about another horse. This idea that if you pick one, you\u2019re knocking the other \u2013 it\u2019s nonsense. Most people are just scared of getting roasted in the comments section on social media.<\/p>\n
And just to remind everybody: Ka Ying Rising would beat Black Caviar.<\/p>\n
So, Romantic Warrior, now, versus Golden Sixty at his best? At 2000 metres, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much question \u2013 I\u2019d want to be on Romantic Warrior. At a mile, that\u2019s where it gets close, because that was Golden Sixty\u2019s sweet spot and he was an absolute weapon there. One other factor that was previously in Golden Sixty\u2019s favour is that he could run closing sectionals that Romantic Warrior could not. But even then, I\u2019m not dismissing Romantic Warrior the way I would have a couple of years ago. Today, it\u2019s a different ball game. Romantic Warrior, this season, has been running faster final 400 metre sectionals than he has at any time in his career. He is racing better than ever.<\/p>\n
No Relief In Sight<\/p>\n
I have bad news for the connections of horses that finished behind Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior on Sunday \u2013 there\u2019s no relief coming anytime soon.<\/p>\n
Ka Ying Rising goes to 1400 metres next start in the Queen\u2019s Silver Jubilee Cup, where he can break Silent Witness\u2019 record of 17 consecutive wins. He won the race last year and I just don\u2019t see any vulnerability at that distance. He runs 1400 on his ear.<\/p>\n
What he did on Sunday in the Centenary Sprint Cup told you everything. He ran his last 400 in 21.94 seconds, he wasn\u2019t hit, he wasn\u2019t pushed out for the final 150 metres \u2013 and he still won easily. That\u2019s the scary part for everyone else. He\u2019s just on a different level. He is one of the best horses I have ever seen, not just sprinters.<\/p>\n
![\"Ka](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ka-Ying-Centenary-HKJC-1024x651.jpg\")
KA YING RISING, ZAC PURTON \/\/ G1 Centenary Sprint Cup \/\/ Sha Tin \/\/\/ 2026 \/\/\/\/ Photo by HKJC<\/p>\n
Romantic Warrior stays on the Triple Crown path \u2013 next stop the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup, then later the G1 Champions & Chater Cup. I know he got beaten at 2400 metres last time he tried, but I think he wins it this year.<\/p>\n
The two best horses in Hong Kong are only getting better and right now, second place is the best anyone else can hope for. \u220e<\/p>\n
![\"Trainer](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Danny-Retire-Illo-1024x671.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Michael Cox<\/p>\n
\u2018If You Retire, I Retire\u2019: Danny Shum, Romantic Warrior, And The Bond That Almost Broke Him<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Michael Cox<\/p>\n Golden Sixty: Hong Kong Hero To Happy On The Hawkesbury\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andrew Hawkins<\/p>\n The Five Moments That Define Golden Sixty’s Greatness<\/p>\n![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/G6055-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/60derby-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n