Dubai Honour has been backed to conquer Australia once again when he attempts to defend his Kia Tancred Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.
William Haggas’ globetrotting star is unbeaten on his travels to the southern hemisphere and notched up his third win on Australian soil and fourth Group One of his career when landing this prize under Tom Marquand 12 months ago.
Marquand will once again be in the saddle for the eight-year-old’s latest international adventure, with the Somerville Lodge handler hoping his longevity can lead to another momentous occasion at the Sydney track, which will be live on Sky Sports Racing.
Haggas said: “He’s in good shape according to Issy Paul who travels everywhere with him his work has been good and he looks great.
“They’ve got rain and Issy said they’ve had some thunder and lightning so hopefully a good storm there will have loosened up the ground a bit.
“He’s bound to run well. He’s a very genuine horse and we’ve been careful with our campaigning and always tried to prime him for Australia, certainly recently.
“He’s a proper horse who always seems to run well but he is getting on a bit now, he’s eight now and there comes a time he won’t be this good forever but hopefully he has still got a bit in him yet.”
After the Tancred, it appears likely Dubai Honour will remain in Australia for another crack at the Queen Elizabeth Stakes he won at Randwick in 2023 before just losing out to crack mare Via Sistina when returning to the race last year.
Haggas added: “The plan is the Queen Elizabeth after the Tancred but I’m not sure if he will go to Hong Kong again. I put him in because the entry is free, but I don’t know. We’ll see how we get on.”
