The first thing English trainer William Haggas did when he touched down in Sydney just after 7am was make a beeline to Canterbury to check on his Queen Elizabeth Stakes hope Dubai Honour.
And Haggas could not have been more relieved by what he saw ahead of what many are calling a two-horse heavyweight war between Dubai Honour and Anamoe at Randwick on Saturday.
Dubai Honour races away to win the Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill last month.Credit:Getty
“You can’t really explain what you look for, it’s just his general demeanour, a brightness in his eye – you can tell that just by looking at them,” Haggas told the Herald.
“I have a really good team. I feel I’m interfering, I don’t want to interfere because they know what they’re doing and I [almost] don’t want to get in their way. They’ve done terrifically well so far, and long may it continue.”
Haggas won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes twice with Addeybb, with the British ball of muscle twice lowering the colours of Verry Elleegant. Like Dubai Honour, Addeybb won the Ranvet in 2020 en route to his Queen Elizabeth success.
“Addeybb was a big, strong horse, this horse is a finer horse. He has all the parts in the right places, and he’s not a complicated horse – he’s pretty straightforward to train,” Haggas said.
English trainer William Haggas with the late Queen ElizabethCredit:PA
“I first thought of this race in November, 2021. That’s when you need to start planning about coming to Sydney.
“His owner is Dubaian and he wanted a crack at the Sheema Classic in Dubai. The race is worth US$5 million, so we had a crack at that.
“I said to him after that race, ‘Next year, can I take him to Australia?’ And he said, ‘You can do what you like’. We’re here now.”
Haggas watched Dubai Honour thump his rivals in the Ranvet Stakes two weeks ago, a win which “was on ground I thought would be a bit quick for him”.
“All his form in the UK has been on a wet track, but he picked up well and won well,” Haggas said. “I don’t know the strength of the opposition [from that race]. They’re decent horses, but in Anamoe he’ll face a real one. It will be an interesting battle.
“Anamoe has won nine group 1 races, and any horse that does that is pretty special. I have the utmost respect for him.”
Globetrotting hoop Ryan Moore steered Dubai Honour in the Ranvet Stakes, but Tom Marquand – the jockey known as “Aussie Tom” who piloted Addeybb – takes the reins on Saturday.
Haggas also has Protagonist nominated for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but the horse was disappointing in the Doncaster last weekend, and the trainer said he would speak to the connections about potentially waiting a week to run in the JRA Plate (2000m).
Should all go to plan with Dubai Honour, the five-year-old with five wins and four placings from 16 career starts will push on to Hong Kong for the QE2 Cup at the end of the month. Otherwise he will return to England.
Meanwhile, top jockey James McDonald will take the ride on $10m mare Alcohol Free in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes with trainers Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse already eyeing a potential crack at The Everest in the spring, especially given owner Yuesheng Zhang is already a slot-holder.
