By Craig Kerry
Given the disruptions to his latest trip Down Under, “Aussie” Tom Marquand is counting on English horses to give him success.
And after riding work on Dubai Honour, the English jockey is confident the 2023 Ranvet and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner can do just that – starting in the group 1 Tancred Stakes (2400m) on Saturday at Rosehill.
Tom Marquand and Dubai Honour win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick in 2023.Credit: Getty
Marquand, a four-time group 1 winner in Australia, has become a regular visitor since a stint with Lindsay Park in Victoria as an apprentice in 2016. He credits the trips, which included piloting Addeybb to back-to-back Queen Elizabeth Stakes wins in 2020 and 2021, with shaping his career.
“It’s probably six or seven trips now, and it’s been great,” Marquand said. “I’ve learned a ton and the mission’s changed a lot over the years as well. The first year … the main aim was literally come, learn a bit, hopefully ride a winner or two and not too many, so I saved my claim for back home.
“Then I started coming to Sydney and I’ve not really looked back. It’s provided me with some of the biggest opportunities I’ve had in racing. Obviously jumping on Addeybb, that opened up that William Haggas job back home, so it’s been pretty amazing.”
This year, however, Marquand is spending less time in Australia. He will miss next weekend’s first day of The Championships because of rides in Dubai.
“I was very aware that we’ve got loads going on in the Middle East and Asia now, and I knew I was going to have to go to Dubai in the middle of this trip,” he said.
“I could have come early February and tried to really get my teeth stuck in like I normally do and try and find some Australian horses, but in reality it wasn’t going to be straightforward. So I followed a few of those horses to the Middle East instead and have come down to join up with the English horses that we’ve brought and hopefully try and find one or two along the way.”
The Haggas-trained Dubai Honour, which Marquand rode to victory in the 2023 Queen Elizabeth, is again the headline act. After bypassing the Ranvet Stakes against Via Sistina, Dubai Honour was the $3.10 favourite to win the Tancred and a $7 chance in the Queen Elizabeth two weeks later.
“I think, especially with maturity now, stretching out to the mile and a half on a sharper track like Rosehill, it was the correct decision to bypass the Ranvet,” Marquand said.
“He’ll prove whether it was right or wrong this weekend, but seemingly watching and being in the Ranvet [on Al Mubhir] the other day, it was the right decision. Hopefully it really does prove that this weekend.”
Tom Marquand punches the air after winning a second Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Addeybb in 2021.Credit: Getty
Dubai Honour has firmed in outright favouritism, ahead of Vauban, after a draw in gate four and the prospect of a wet track on Saturday.
“We’ve all seen him in the past on rain-affected ground and he just absolutely laps it up,” Marquand said. “Hopefully some of that touches the track and can help our cause out a bit.
“I’ve jumped on him and he felt superb. [Assistant trainer] Issy [Paul] is really happy with him, which she can see so well now after having globe-trotted alongside him and really got to know him. She’s happy, we’re happy, and [it’s] all systems go into the weekend. It’s really exciting.
“He’s a horse that really seems to thrive off travelling. I’ve been lucky. I’ve won a couple of group 1s on him now, and he’s an older horse, he’s travelled really well, he’s been a superstar.
“Just looking forward to hopefully knocking another one in and making the trip feel worthwhile. A lot gets put in by the Somerville Lodge and Haggis stable. It’s an expensive trip. Obviously, it’s been fruitful on a few occasions, but they put a lot into it, and you want to be rewarding them with the big winners, and he’s an important horse for that.”
He was wary, though, of a tough Tancred field, especially Vauban.
“He’s a very good horse,” he said. “Well bought, I thought. Obviously proved that the other day winning at 10 furlongs.”
Marquand also rides in the program’s other group 1, the Vinery Stud Stakes, aboard John Sargent-trained Powers Of Opal.
“I jumped on it [Tuesday] morning and she felt really well in herself,” he said. “She enjoyed the bit of juice in the ground, I thought, when it was early and there was a bit of dew in it.
“To me, that was positive. I believe she’s going around with blinkers on as well. She had them on the track gallop, so all systems go. Hopefully she can jump back to some of that spring form.”
