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Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) barely came out of second gear as he repeated his 2024 success in the HK$13-million Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday, emulating the likes of Viva Pataca (2008 and 2009), Designs On Rome (2015 and 2016) and Golden Sixty (2021 and 2023) as a dual winner of the Group 1 prize. Trained by Danny Shum, Romantic Warrior is also now just leg away from becoming only the third horse in history to complete the Hong Kong Triple Crown after this effortless win. Racing...

Members of the racing community in Dubai for Super Saturday now face an anxious wait for the airport to reopen in the wake of the American and Israeli attacks on Iran which resulted in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Racing went ahead at Meydan on a day when the Fairmont hotel on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah caught fire after being hit during an Iranian air attack. Overnight on Saturday, the Dubai International Airport (DXB), which serves some 250,000 passengers daily, also sustained damage which resulted in injuries to four passengers,...

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong, post time: 3.35 p.m. CITI HONG KONG GOLD CUP-G1, HK$13,000,000, 3yo/up, 2000mT (PPs) Field: Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), Voyage Bubble (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}), Beauty Joy (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}), My Wish (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}), Ensued (Lemon Drop Kid), Winning Wing (NZ) (Preferment {NZ}). TDN Analysis: At this time last year, Romantic Warrior was recovering from his narrow defeat in the G1 Saudi Cup and preparing for the G1 Dubai Turf, but he is back on home soil this time around looking for a...

Meydan's Super Saturday card went ahead despite military action in the Middle East which saw a fire break out at Dubai's luxury Fairmont The Palm Hotel. US and Israeli forces attacked Iran on Saturday morning in what the two countries described as a "pre-emptive" strike against a Tehran government intent on developing nuclear weapons. The attack prompted retaliation from Iran, with missiles reported to have targeted Israel and countries across the Middle East. Veteran racing broadcaster Derek Thompson was at Meydan on Saturday and said "bangs and flashes" were visible....

Simon and Ed Crisford saddled a treble of winners during Meydan's Super Saturday card, and it was the Coolmore partners' Title Role (Too Darn Hot) who stepped up to spoil the party of heavy favourite Talk Of New York (Wootton Bassett). Racing in midfield as Pacifica Pier (Palace Pier) showed the way, the eventual winner was given an efficient Ryan Moore ride. Motoring with just over 500 metres remaining, he fanned three deep and accelerated with a telling burst to reach contention at the furlong grounds. He clawed his way...

Group 1 winner Maranoa Charlie has his first mares scanned in foal. The son of Wootton Bassett stands at Tally-Ho Stud for €20,000 this year. Some of the mares already in foal to the G1 Prix de la Foret hero include Group 1 winner Ebro River (Galileo Gold)'s dam Soft Power (Balmont); multiple group winner Oscula (Galileo Gold)'s dam Bisous Y Besos (Big Bad Bob); Eliza Bennet (Kodiac), a half-sister to Group 1-placed juvenile Brussels (Wootton Bassett); Lady Aria (Kodiac), the dam of multiple group winners West Acre (Mehmas) and...

A Snitzel yearling colt out of Australian wondermare Winx (Street Cry) has been withdrawn from the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. He sustained a setback in his prep which will prevent him from taking part in the auction. "The welfare of our beautiful colt is of paramount importance to us and the veterinary advice is that he will need a period of time to recover appropriately from his setback," part-owner Peter Tighe said. "We will give him all the time that he needs and thus he will be unable to take...

Three-time G1 Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva has died after a short battle with colic. An Australian racing icon, she was a member of the Australian Racing Hall of Fame since 2006 and achieved Legend status in 2010. She was 27. By Desert King, the mare won the Melbourne Cup from 2003-2005 and is the only Melbourne Cup winner to take the "Race that Stops the Nation" three times. Makybe Stud said in a statement, "A once-in-a-generation legend, Makybe Diva captured the imagination of the nation and the admiration of...

The death of the G1 Irish Champion Stakes winner Economics, as confirmed on Friday, has rocked those connected with him at Poonawalla Stud Farms in India.  The five-year-old son of Night Of Thunder had been due to cover his first mare but was struck down by a displacement of his large colon. Having survived the initial surgery, Economics developed complications thereafter and could not be saved. Simone Poonawalla, managing director of Poonawalla Stud Farms, paid a heartfelt tribute to the young stallion, describing his demise as a "deeply personal loss"....

Former Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior clashes with Voyage Bubble in the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday. Second in the 2000-metre race in 2023, he went one better in 2024. In 2025, the popular gelding took his show on the road with a win in the G1 Jebel Hatta, before valiant seconds in the G1 Saudi Cup and G1 Dubai Turf. Since he returned to Hong Kong soil, he's been flawless, rattling off victories in the G2 Jockey Club Cup, G1...

Economics, a European Group 1 winner, has died in India, according to published reports. The G1 Irish Champion Stakes-winning son of Night Of Thunder was standing his first season at Poonawalla Stud. Bred by Copgrove Hall Stud and a dual graduate of the Tattersalls sales, the blaze-faced chestnut won four of his seven starts for trainer William Haggas and regular rider Tom Marquand. Raced by Isa Salman Al Khalifa, he also landed the G2 Dante Stakes and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano during his seven-race career. Out of dual G2 Prix...

Saturday, Meydan, UAE, post time: 20:35, AL MAKTOUM CLASSIC-G2, AED1,700,000, 4yo/up & SH 3yo, 2000m Field: Heart Of Honor (GB) (Honor A.P.), Mendelssohn Bay (Mendelssohn), Meydaan (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Walk Of Stars (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Generous Tipper (Street Sense), Tap Leader (Tapiture), Masmak (Vino Rosso), Flying Honours (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Antrim (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) TDN Analysis: This course-and-distance lead-up to the G1 Dubai World Cup shapes pretty quick on paper and that should suit Heart of Honor right down to the ground. Winner of the Listed The Entisar...