‘It hit me’: Romantic Warrior coming to Australia for retirement with J-Mac

Champion jockey James McDonald and his family will find an Australian home for Romantic Warrior, the horse that took him around the world.

The Hong Kong champion was retired as a nine-year-old on Wednesday because of joint problems.

“I felt pretty sad, and I’m not an emotional person,” McDonald said. “It did hit me quite a bit.

“His owner Peter Lau has kindly given us the opportunity to look after him [in retirement].

“The girls have become quite fond of him, and we can now see him every day.

“That is the least we can give [him] back for what he has given us over the years.

“I can’t to see him back down here.”

McDonald called Romantic Warrior a combination of Anamoe and Nature Strip, and rode him on 20 occasions for 17 wins, 11 of them Group 1 wins.

His resume includes a Cox Plate, a Jabel Hatta in Dubai and Yasuda Kinen in Japan as well as dominating in Hong Kong, where he won four successive Hong Kong International Cups, Hong Kong Derby, four Queen Elizabeth II Cups.

Australian equine physio Tom Simpson was part of the team around Romantic Warrior travelling regularly to Hong Kong as well as his journey to Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Japan.

Simpson was part of Winx’s career but Romantic Warrior took him to the world like McDonald.

“I have been fortunate to work with some of the elite stars of the racetrack but I have never seen a horse as well named as him,” Simpson said.

“He is a warrior in every sense of the word.

“You don’t compare them because every one of them has their own characteristics and is special.

 “But he was special in what he did and where he went.

“I went around the world with him and it was an amazing journey.

“I look forward to seeing him out there and spending more time in the coming years.”