Danny Shum Chap-shing says he “can’t understand” the decision preventing Romantic Warrior from eating his regular feed when he travels to Australia later this month, confirming he’s worried the issue “could become a big problem”.

In an interview with Zac Purton’s wife Nicole on Australia’s The Triple Trio programme, Shum outlined the trouble Group One Cox Plate (2,040m) favourite Romantic Warrior has had switching from his regular feed to an Australian version.

“He used to finish all the feed, but now I come and check, he always has four pounds, three pounds left,” Shum said.

While Shum applied weeks ago to have Romantic Warrior’s feed waiting for him when he arrives in Victoria on September 16, Australia’s import regulations mean that hasn’t been possible and the three-time Group One winner has struggled to adapt.

“They said it should be OK, but it’s prohibited – it’s not allowed in Australia. I can’t understand it – what kind of decision is that,” Shum said.

“I talked to the veterinary department and they said it’s better to change feed as early as possible, instead of waiting until we go to Australia and maybe making it worse. We’ve changed it here, and we’ll just see.

“We’ll stick with the feed all the way, we can’t change – this is the only feed they can provide. It could become a big problem.

“Until now, he’s still not eating very well. I hope it improves, but it’s hard to tell. Of course, there are ongoing concerns. Also, he needs to travel to Melbourne, which will be quite tough for him.”

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There’s also the small matter of the fitness of Romantic Warrior’s superstar jockey James McDonald, who is battling to recover from a foot injury in time to partner the galloper in the first of his two Australian assignments, the Group One Turnbull Stakes (2,000m) on October 7.

“James says he should be OK but not guaranteed – I’ll talk to the owner if James can’t ride,” said Shum, suggesting Zac Purton, Hugh Bowman and Nash Rawiller are in the mix to replace McDonald, if required.

All eyes will be on Romantic Warrior in the lead-up to his departure, with the five-year-old to have his next turf gallop on Thursday evening.

Ng’s Korea raid falls flat

Pierre Ng Pang-chi tasted opening-day success at Sha Tin thanks to I Give, but the young trainer will return from Korea empty-handed after Duke Wai and Apache Pass failed to fire on the Seoul sand.

Fifth in the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) on Dubai World Cup night in March, Duke Wai could only manage fourth in the Group Three Korea Sprint (1,200m).

Duke Wai found himself well back in the run from gate 11 under Australian jockey Damian Lane before running on well enough to grab some prize money behind victorious $1.5 favourite Remake from Japan.

“I’m pretty happy with the way Duke Wai ran today. We were a bit unlucky at the start, but he made up so much ground. I was very proud with the way he chased up a lot in the straight. The winner was good,” Ng said.

“If it wasn’t for the jump, we might have gone a little bit closer, but he did brilliantly for his second time overseas. We’ll be looking to go again with him.”

Lane settled Apache Pass just off the speed in the Group Three Korea Cup (1,800m) but he faded to finish well adrift of runaway leader Crown Pride, who completed a feature double for Japan at the same quote as his compatriot.

“The Japanese made an early move, so he had to keep up with them. Of course, in the end, he was a bit tired, but if it wasn’t a quick move, we may have got away with fifth or sixth,” Ng said.

“It is what it is, they’re very strong horses and it’s a very good experience for Apache Pass. Hopefully, he can learn from it, and hopefully, we can do something else this season with him.”

Hall’s luck may be in again

He snared the first race of last season before posting a career-best haul of 44 wins and David Hall’s luck could be in again after he took out the first contest of the 2023-24 campaign at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Twelve months after marking the opening of a new season by saluting with This Is Charisma, Hall snared the Class Five Mount Parker Handicap (1,600m) with Dazzling Fellow.

Superstition is rife in Hong Kong racing and the city’s owners love nothing more than a “lucky” trainer, and Hall will again to be looking to capitalise on his flying start.

“We’ve repeated from last year. It’s good to get the horse a win and get his confidence going. He had a couple of seconds [last season]. He’s a big, raw, plain, staying type of horse – probably not an ideal Hong Kong horse – so he’s taken a hell of a lot of time,” Hall said.

“But the race worked out beautifully for him today. He got into a nice position, got into a good rhythm and showed he had a bit too much class for Class Five.”

Another trainer pleased to hit the board early on Sunday was Dennis Yip Chor-hong, who received his first strike for failing to meet the Jockey Club’s trainers’ benchmark last season.

Yip, who landed 22 victories last season but fell short of the benchmark by way of having too much Class Five success, struck with Super Winner in the season’s second event, the first section of the Class Four Yi Tung Shan Handicap (1,200m).