Peter Lau's superstar clinched a seventh Group 1 in spectacular circumstances. He overcame a problematic trip instigated by stall ten, was forced to kick off a muddling pace which developed against him and was then pushed wide by several of his conspiring rivals around the home turn.
Despite this, the result eventually mirrored last year's running, with Romantic Warrior holding off the gallant Mitsumasa Nakauchida-trained Prognosis to score by a neck and surpass Eishin Preston's two victories in the race in 2002 and 2003.
The runner-up was manoeuvred into a threatening position by Yuga Kawada after breaking slowest and losing notable ground from the stalls, but he was soon engaged by Romantic Warrior towards his outside in the home straight and ultimately had to yield by a neck.
"I'm speechless - he's awesome," an emotional McDonald said. "He was beaten at the 600m, he just finds a way. It's incredible. I dead-set didn't have one thing go my way. I had ten riders dead-set against me and the horse. I just had no favours.
"He is incredible. There wasn't one part of the race I was happy with, to be honest with you. Going out of the straight the first time, I was deep, but I was in a rhythm but not in a good spot.
"1000m from home, I was finally having a rest and one took off and at the 600m, he was off the bridle and struggling in the ground a tad and he just picks up. I'm just in disbelief."
The same battling qualities which have seen Romantic Warrior establish himself as Hong Kong's premier middle-distance horse were evidenced once again as he fought to another narrow success, adding to magnificent victories in the G1 W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) in October, G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) in December and G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) in February.
The six-year-old will now bid to enhance his sparkling record with another overseas engagement as Danny Shum is contemplating stepping back in trip to a mile for the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) at Tokyo racecourse on 2 June if all goes well with the admirable six-year-old.
The trainer said: "Japan will be next, we want to go there but our first priority is to see how the horse is. When he came in, he seemed a bit tired. It wasn't an easy run, James said make sure the horse is sound and then we'll schedule him in.
"He ran a good race, he always tried and James did a good job. We all love this horse. He always tries his best. Today, no horses could lock him in - he just wouldn't stop trying. James ran a good race not to rush him, keep him balanced and keep all his momentum."
On a day when many horses - including the legendary Golden Sixty in the G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) - struggled to make inroads on the yielding Sha Tin turf, Romantic Warrior proved one of the exceptions for a historic success.
The front-running North Bridge finished third to round out the placings for Japan, while last year's third, the British challenger Dubai Honour, could only finish seventh for William Haggas and Tom Marquand. The BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) winner Massive Sovereign was a further place behind.
FWD QEII Cup - Post-race jockey/trainer quotes
ROMANTIC WARRIOR - James McDonald
"I'm speechless, he's awesome. He was beaten at the 600m but he just finds a way. It's incredible. I dead-set didn't have one thing go my way. I had 10 riders dead-set against me and the horse. I just had no favours.
"He is incredible. There wasn't one part of the race I was happy with, to be honest with you. Going out (of the straight) the first time, I was deep, but I was in a rhythm but not in a good spot. 1000m from home, I was finally having a rest and one took off and at the 600, he was off the bridle and struggling in the ground a tad and he just picks up. I'm just in disbelief."
PROGNOSIS - Trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida
"I feel very frustrated. The horse was in very good form coming into the race. He has been getting used to here and feeling very good. The weather might be a crucial factor for him."
NORTH BRIDGE - Yasunari Iwata
"He ran his best. Last time in Doha, I couldn't make enough effort to lead but the way how we ran today is exactly how we planned on this rain affected track."
HAPPY TOGETHER - Alexis Badel
"It was a great performance. It was a tricky draw, he had a lovely race. He showed good improvement and he is a lovely horse and will remain competitive in Hong Kong.
HISHI IGUAZU - Damian Lane
"He tried hard."
FIVE G PATCH - Brenton Avdulla
"He ran well. Just ready for a mile and a half now."
DUBAI HONOUR - Tom Marquand
"He travelled around good on the back of the eventual winner. Just when I needed him he just struggled to pick up and is probably looking for a mile and half on tracks like this."
MASSIVE SOVEREIGN - Zac Purton
"He just didn't handle the going and was gone at the 1200 (metres)."
NIMBLE NIMBUS - Andrea Atzeni
"We changed tactics today from the wide draw but that just didn't suit him."
STRAIGHT ARRON - Vincent Ho
"A bit disappointing. I was travelling well until the back straight and I copped a big squeeze and the horse didn't give me anything afterwards."
SWORD POINT - Derek Leung
"Just not good enough today."
