After winning the Stewards’ Cup and Hong Kong Gold Cup earlier this season, Romantic Warrior came into the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup looking to rewrite prior failure. Romantic Warrior exploded late around the final turn after sitting in fourth place for most of the race, as jockey James McDonald chased down the leader. But the jockey’s aggressive move in the final stretch would cost him dearly, as he ended up receiving a suspension and a fine.

On May 24, inside the final 400 meters, Romantic Warrior launched a powerful charge through the field as McDonald pushed the champion toward the leaders. But at around 300 meters, McDonald moved inward, forcing Deep Monster to tighten his line. Jockey Joao Moreira kept an eye on the horse at the 200-metre mark to prevent contact.

However, Romantic Warrior continued to win the race by a half length by the final 50 meters with an official time of 2:26.67. With the victory, Romantic Warrior secured his third Triple Crown and his career total in Hong Kong history has reached over HK$288 million. Moments after the finish, stewards launched an inquiry into the interference involving Deep Monster.

Stewards ruled McDonald, who won the rare Hong Kong Triple Crown, careless for moving inward without sufficient clearance. The star jockey received an eight-day suspension from June 3 to 11 and was slapped with a fine of HK$120,000. The suspension will also force McDonald to miss several upcoming rides, including the Queensland Oaks meeting in Australia. But this isn’t the first time he faced suspension this year.

Earlier in 2026, Racing NSW had also suspended McDonald for three meetings after he weighed in heavily following a race at Rosehill. And now, suspension struck again. Still, the officials decided the interference was not serious enough to change the result. Romantic Warrior officially remained the winner, with Numbers finishing second and Deep Monster third. But the win carried extra weight: Romantic Warrior had lost this exact race in 2023.

The difficult journey behind James McDonald and Romantic Warrior’s historic triple crown win

In 2023, Romantic Warrior came painfully close to completing Hong Kong’s Triple Crown. But was denied in the final leg, the Champions & Chater Cup, by the Russian Emperor. At Sha Tin, Romantic Warrior and jockey Zac Purton tried to control the race from the front, but the demanding 2400-meter distance tested the champion late. Russian Emperor, ridden by Hugh Bowman, produced a late burst and caught Romantic Warrior right near the finish line.

Romantic Warrior crossed the line in 2:26.92, narrowly missing the Triple Crown after already winning the first two legs earlier that season. The loss became one of the biggest heartbreaks of the horse’s career because many expected him to complete the historic sweep.

Meanwhile, things were difficult for James McDonald away from the track. His biggest suspension came in 2016 when Racing NSW banned him for 18 months. This happened after he admitted involvement in a betting breach connected to Astern. McDonald later rebuilt his career and returned to become one of the world’s top jockeys, but suspensions continued to follow him.

He was suspended for seven meetings in Hong Kong during the latter part of 2024 after a careless riding collision resulted in a falling horse and jockey. Romantic Warrior required medical attention. Vets had undertaken CT and MRI scans of the horse on May 16, 2025, with no indication of injury, but the vet did find “potential changes” in the left front fetlock.

Following the incident, Romantic Warrior was to undergo surgery on 28th May 2025. During the procedure, vets inserted a single screw into the left front fetlock under standing sedation and local anesthesia. The surgery was completed successfully without complications, and Romantic Warrior has won all 6 races since coming back from the surgery.

Now, the pair’s latest triumph has been overshadowed by James McDonald’s fine and suspension.