English trainer Andrew Balding is hoping to turn back the clock 20 years when he hands The Foxes the formidable task of taking on the globally acclaimed local champion Romantic Warrior in the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on 8 December.  

Balding is fully aware of the magnitude of the assignment but he is confident the four-year-old, who won the G2 Dante Stakes (2051m) at York last year before finishing a respectable fifth behind Auguste Rodin in the G1 Derby Stakes (2405m) at Epsom, can bounce back to his best.

“He’s got a fair bit to find with Romantic Warrior but I think we are certainly in the mix with the others. He has come out of his recent win at Newcastle very well and I can’t feel we could have him any better. He’s a horse we have always thought a lot of,” he points out.

After Epsom, The Foxes travelled to America to finish a brave second to Far Bridge in the G1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (2000m) before finishing last of four runners in the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes (2080m) at York. Injury concerns surfaced and it took some time to get him back on track.

“We had issues with him straight after he returned from New York. But with plenty of time off and careful rehabilitation, he seems right back to his best. He showed that he was back on his A Game when he beat Dubai Honour at Newcastle.

“Dubai Honour admittedly carried a penalty that day but The Foxes won well and Oisin Murphy felt there was plenty left in the locker. Looking again at the form of his Dante win, and before that the Royal Lodge as a two-year-old, he has rubbed shoulders with the best in Europe,” he adds.

The Foxes carries the blue and white colours of King Power, the company founded by the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who died in a helicopter crash in October, 2018. The company are Thailand’s leading operator of airport duty free stores, and Vichai also took over Leicester City FC in the English Premier League. King Power have 20 horses at Balding’s stable at Kingsclere and are the stable sponsor. The ‘Chairman’s Yard’ there is named in memory of Vichai, whose picture is prominently placed on one of the walls.

Since the father’s death, his son Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, also known as ‘Top,’ has taken over as chairman of Leicester FC and runs the King Power business. Balding says: ‘Top’ is a pretty useful polo player and he understands horses. He’s always taken a keen interest in the racing amongst all his other things such as the football and the business.

“He’s very supportive and it would give us great pleasure to win this for him. The football season is in full swing and Leicester have a home game at the weekend, so I don’t know his plans,” he adds.

Balding is wanting to revive happy memories. In 2004, he saddled the remarkably successful globetrotter Phoenix Reach to win the Hong Kong Vase, ridden by Martin Dwyer. The gelding would also win the Dubai Sheema Classic, the Canadian International and finish second in the Singapore Airlines International Cup.

“We haven’t had a horse for Hong Kong for several years. But it’s always something we would like to do. If we have the right horse, Hong Kong is on the agenda.”

The trainer concludes with an interesting observation: “I think The Foxes is quite similar to Phoenix Reach, to be honest.”