Dubai Honour may already boast a Queen Elizabeth Stakes victory, but his handler Isabella Paul acknowledges that this year’s edition brings new obstacles for the seasoned gelding to overcome.
In 2023, when trained by William Haggas, Dubai Honour claimed the title off the back of solid middle-distance form in Europe.
However, two years later, he has cemented himself as a genuine 2400m specialist, a point underscored by his impressive win in the Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill.
Now dropping back 400 metres in distance for Saturday’s $5 million feature at Randwick, Paul, who accompanies the horse during travel, has some understandable concerns.
“He probably is a bit more vulnerable back to that trip,” Paul said.
“Whether it’s because, prior to that, we were running against Romantic Warriors and horses like that, and it’s enough to find anyone out, even the best horses. Whether that had a bit to do with it, but he has definitely been more consistent over the mile-and-a-half trip.”
Despite these hesitations, Dubai Honour has answered every challenge since arriving in Australia.
He took out both the Ranvet and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2023 and remains unbeaten in his Australian appearances following the Tancred victory.
Paul is hopeful he can keep that flawless Sydney record intact and says the gelding came out of his last race in excellent shape.
“That would be nice, to keep the perfect record,” she said.
“It’s obviously not that straightforward and he’s got an outside draw.
“There are couple of horses in there which will hopefully mean there is good pace and that would also be a benefit.”
Via Sistina currently leads the market as the favourite for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), while Dubai Honour follows closely at $6.
Paul anticipates an exciting showdown and finds it inspiring to see two seven-year-olds still competing at such a high level.
“She is just a phenomenal filly. It’s such a credit to Chris Waller that she is still running as well as she is at seven-years-old,” Paul said.
“I think it’s quite cool to have two seven-year-olds going up against each other and it just shows you they are really, really versatile and how tough they can be.
“And if they still enjoy racing and they can have seriously long, very profitable careers.”
Between them, Dubai Honour and Via Sistina have made a combined 52 starts and amassed over $18 million in prize money.