WHEN the Longines World Rankings were revealed earlier this week, I was shocked that Romantic Warrior did not top the list. A seven-time Group 1 winner at his local Sha Tin, the Danny Shum-trained bay became the first Hong Kong-trained horse to land the Cox Plate and later captured the Yasuda Kinen in Japan.

An unprecedented third win in the Hong Kong Cup brought his earnings past the historic high set by Golden Sixty, after which his rider James McDonald quipped: “He’s the best, forget the rest.” The son of Acclamation brought his winning run to eight in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta yesterday, in what looked a hugely impressive performance that was overshadowed by the fatal injury suffered by Measured Time.