Much-travelled English raider Dubai Honour is ready to strike in Saturday’s (29 March) AU$1.5 million (approx. HK$7.27 million) G1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill, according to his jockey Tom Marquand.
The last time the William Haggas-trained gelding set his sights on Sydney’s rich races, he waltzed away with two Group 1 victories in 2023 – the Ranvet Stakes (2000m) and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
Ryan Moore rode Dubai Honour to victory in the Ranvet Stakes, while Marquand had the ride in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes to complete victory in the only two races the now seven-year-old gelding contested in Australia.
Dubai Honour will be first-up since finishing second, beaten two and a half lengths by Giavellotto, in the HK$24 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin last December.
“We always see it with those horses, they do the Sydney trip once and he’s been to Hong Kong a couple of times now as well and they just become so professional,” Marquand said.
“It probably is fair to say that he does thrive off it. He really does well. He is a mature horse now and we all know his level of form, and that’s a high level.”
A versatile galloper, Dubai Honour has won on good and yielding tracks and Marquand said that while the gelding doesn’t necessarily need a rain-affected surface, the predicted rain could help.
“We are very much of the impression that over a mile-and-a-half (2400m), he doesn’t need the rain but if it comes, it’s of assistance,” Marquand, who arrived in Australia last week, said.
“When Ryan Moore won on him (in the Ranvet) it was (a) Good 4 (track condition), it was pretty quick and he’s felt good before on Hong Kong ground. It’s not that he needs the soft ground, it just assists him a bit extra.”
Dubai Honour, ridden in 14 of his 28 races by Marquand, is battling favouritism in the feature with the former Irish-trained galloper Vauban, who transferred to the powerful Sydney stables of Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott after last year’s second failed attempt to win the G1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
The seven-year-old gelding made an instant return on the AU$2 million (approx. HK$9.8 million) his new owners paid for him with his first-up victory in the G3 Sky High Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill on 15 March, collecting an AU$198,500 (approx. HK$973,323) cheque.
There is no shortage of quality in Saturday’s race with the likes of last year’s G1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) winner Duke De Sessa and the 2023 Tancred Stakes winner Arapaho all expected to challenge.
Arapaho’s trainer Bjorn Baker said the gelding had been going great.
“Of course, he won the race two years ago and his runs this preparation have been outstanding, it’s hard to think he’s not going better than ever,” he said.
Mick Price and his training partner Michael Kent Jnr will saddle four-year-old Warmonger, who is chasing his second Group 1 victory and first win since last year’s runaway Queensland Derby (2400m) triumph on a soft Eagle Farm track.
Warmonger was impressive on 8 March, running on to finish second to Alalcance in the Listed Randwick City Stakes (2000m).
“Second-up at 2000 (metres) he was much, much better, it was a very good run and the form has stood up with Alalcance bolting over 2400,” Kent said.
“It is looking one of the best editions of the Tancred that I can recall, it’s a very deep race with Vauban, Dubai Honour and Duke De Sessa, just to name a few.
“It’s a really, really hot race but he’s going super.”
Six-year-old mare River Of Stars makes her Australian debut and is a multiple stakes winner of four races from 15 starts and is Group 1-placed in France.
