After letting the dust settle on Romantic Warrior’s campaign, Shum said a trip to the United States is one of several offers on the table for owner, Peter Lau Pak-fai, to consider.
“There are a lot of options for us,” Shum said. “John Blight from Moonee Valley came and had a meeting with me and Peter Lau to see if we will go back for the Cox Plate, and Bill Nader from the Breeders’ Cup called Peter as well.
“For me I’d prefer to stay in Hong Kong, but I have to listen to the boss. We can stay here in November, then go to the Hong Kong Cup, Gold Cup and QE II Cup again. We need to see.”
Of the international assignments on the table for Romantic Warrior, Shum says he is not ruling out a possible defence of his Yasuda Kinen crown, with the ease of transport and quarantine in Tokyo a big advantage.
“The Breeders’ Cup is so far away and the quarantine system and CT scans in Australia are very difficult,” Shum said. “We could do the same as last year maybe and run him in the Yasuda Kinen in June – we’ll see how he goes. You go straight to Tokyo, the quarantine is in the racecourse. It’s very easy and the horse is very comfortable there.