Romantic Warrior may well bounce back in the weight-for-age Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in just over a fortnight’s time, but broader questions must be asked about the Hong Kong star’s Australian preparation.

Jumping at $1.55 on the World Pool-inflated tote at his Australian debut last Saturday, Danny Shum’s Hong Kong Derby hero finished out of the placings in fourth, four-lengths from dominant winner Gold Trip, last year’s Melbourne Cup champion who is also on a Cox Plate path.

Asian Racing Report Editor Michael Cox questioned the wisdom of using Flemington’s Turnbull Stakes, a set weights and penalties race that saw Romantic Warrior concede weight to the rest of the field, as the six-year-old’s sole Cox Plate lead-in.

“Why not put the horse in a mile race, with a bit more tempo, where he’s not going to overrace, where he can go past a few horses at the finish?” Cox asked on this week’s episode of Asian Racing Review.

Cox also queried whether the horse’s apparent fitness deficit could be resolved prior to his Moonee Valley target race. 

“He was underdone, underprepared, blew up at the 300 (metres) and horses went straight past him… He’ll need to be much better to win the Cox Plate.”

Watch the segment analysing Romantic Warrior’s Turnbull defeat:

Also on this week’s episode of Asian Racing Review: 

Vincent Ho’s controversial ten meeting suspension: all the fallout; appeal latest (0:00); Romantic Warrior’s Turnbull Stakes run and its Cox Plate implications: too many flimsy excuses? (8:52); JRA Group racing latest: G2 Mainichi Okan, ‘bigger, stronger’ Schnell Meister huge in defeat (14:11); JRA two-year-olds: Gonbade Qabus upstages market fancies in G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (16:49); The latest on the ‘worrying’ situation in Macau: racing is back, but remains in peril (18:28); Significant Asian participation in this year’s Inglis Ready2Race Sale in Sydney (21:35).

Watch this week’s full episode:

Romantic Warrior’s Cox Plate challenge tests Shum’s experience