James McDonald is convinced Romantic Warrior is better placed than last year to repel another star-studded group of overseas challengers in his bid for a historic third Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) victory on Sunday.

Twelve months ago, Danny Shum Chap-shing’s superstar overcame a trip back from his Group One Cox Plate (2,040m) success in Australia and quarantine stint to narrowly defend his crown in Hong Kong’s richest race.

But with a more uninterrupted preparation remaining in his home city, Romantic Warrior is poised to become the first galloper to claim three Hong Kong Cups while victory would also see him surpass Golden Sixty’s world-record HK$167.1 million in prize money.

Standing in his way is a fresh batch of challengers from overseas, headlined by Japan’s star filly Liberty Island.

But McDonald has unwavering faith in eight-time Group One victor Romantic Warrior as he chases another slice of history.

“He’s in superb form and he’s going to be awfully hard to beat,” McDonald said. “He’s probably peaking up better than he did last year for the same race, so we’re looking forward to Sunday.

“He’s just the perfect racehorse. He’s got gate speed, sustained speed, it doesn’t matter whether it’s wet, dry, fast or slow tempo, he’s pretty much unflappable over a mile and a quarter.

“It’s going to be no easy task, obviously the Japanese are coming here in strong force so we need the right run, but he’s the right horse to do it.

“Hopefully he can make it three Hong Kong Cups, it would be really fitting if he could go down as one of probably the best Hong Kong horses to grace the Sha Tin turf. That’s our goal and he’s well on his way. He’s been a phenomenal horse and he just keeps racking them up.”

Liberty Island is rated Romantic Warrior’s biggest threat, having won four Group Ones including last year’s Triple Tiara.

The Mitsumasa Nakauchida-trained four-year-old was seven months between runs and returning from injury when 13th behind Do Deuce in the Group One Tenno Sho Autumn (2,000m) last start.

Last year’s Japanese Derby winner Tastiera also represents the Land of the Rising Sun, Britain’s Spirit Dancer is fresh from his second consecutive Group Two Bahrain International Trophy (2,000m) triumph, Calif is a Group One victor from France and champion Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien will be represented by quality fillies Content and Wingspan.

But Romantic Warrior is expected to start odds-on, fresh from an effortless first-up win against moderate local opposition in the Group Two Jockey Club Cup (2,000m).

The six-year-old will jump from barrier one – the same draw from which he won the Jockey Club Cup.

McDonald also has high hopes for Voyage Bubble in Sunday’s Group One Hong Kong Mile, with Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s stable star coming off a strong success in the Group Two Jockey Club Mile.

The Group One Stewards’ Cup (1,600m) hero has drawn ideally in barrier five and bids to go one better than last year, when he ran second to Golden Sixty in the Hong Kong Mile.

“I’d expect him to be competitive for sure, because he’s a very consistent horse,” McDonald said.

“His lead-up run was great and he’ll improve off that as well. He’s a horse that makes his own luck up on speed and I’m sure he’ll give a great sight, even though it’s a strong race. He ran second last year and he’s going every bit as good as that, so he’s definitely in the race.”

Yiu also expects Voyage Bubble to prove hard to beat.

“It’s all falling into place,” the veteran handler said. “He’s had a couple of good gallops on the grass and it has been a very good preparation. This horse seems to be improving still little by little. There’s still quite a bit left in him, although he’s had a lot of tough runs.”