Champion British trainer WILLIAM HAGGAS will need to defy history if he is going to win the HK$25m FWD QEII Cup (2000m) with rising star DUBAI HONOUR, who is back for his second attempt at the race after finishing a luckless fourth in 2021.
DUBAI HONOUR recently claimed the Sydney version of the QEII Cup in breathtaking fashion, severely lowering the colours of Australia’s best weight-for-age galloper Anamoe, who was retired to stud last week and will stand for A$121k as a first-season sire.
However, history suggests the Hong Kong version of the QEII Cup may be one bridge too far for HAGGAS, with local runners winning eight of the past 12 editions. Five of those home winners went on to be crowned “Horse of the Year” (2011 Ambitious Dragon; 2013 Military Attack; 2014 Designs On Rome; 2016 Werther & 2020 Exultant).
Another alarming statistic is that the remaining four overseas winners all hail from Japan, Rulership (2012), Neorealism (2017), Win Bright (2019) and Loves Only You (2021). The winner has only represented Hong Kong or Japan in the past dozen QEII Cup editions.
