Francis-Henri Graffard believes the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin is the “perfect starting point” for Goliath as the fields for Champions Day begin to take shape following the Dubai World Cup meeting at Meydan Racecourse last Saturday.
The selected fields for the three Group 1s on April 27 – the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) and Champions Mile – are announced tomorrow and they will likely be headlined by the potential clash between last year’s G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2400m) hero and Japan’s star filly Liberty Island in the QEII Cup.
Romantic Warrior’s G1 Dubai Turf (1800m) conqueror, Soul Rush, is likely to head to the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) rather than Sha Tin, according to connections. But Liberty Island’s trainer, Mitsu Nakauchida, told Idol Horse in the aftermath of her disappointing eighth in that same contest that his initial instinct is that he ‘definitely’ wants to take his mare to Champions Day, though nothing is set in stone just yet.
Nakauchida will first need to see how she comes out of the race and then discuss with controlling interests Sunday Racing and Northern Farm about what they would like to do next with the 2023 Fillies’ Triple Crown heroine, who was second to Romantic Warrior in December’s G1 Hong Kong Cup.
If connections choose to push on to Sha Tin, they will find the French powerhouse Goliath, who was last seen finishing sixth in November’s G1 Japan Cup (2400m).
The five-year-old has been given the green light to step back to 2000m for the first time since he finished fourth in the G3 Prix du Prince d’Orange in September 2023.
“He is going to Hong Kong and he’s doing very well at the moment,” Graffard told Idol Horse at Meydan. “He’s put so much strength on and fingers crossed he can run well.
“He will need a bit of pace over this trip but it’s a great starting point for him for the rest of the season.”
The British challenge in the QEII Cup is yet to be confirmed, with William Haggas telling Idol Horse he is unsure whether he will have a runner in the race despite his stable’s Dubai Honour, Al Mubhir and Maljoom all holding entries.
Dubai Honour finished second on his fourth visit to Sha Tin for December’s G1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) and burst to a fourth Group 1 success in the Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill on April 1. He is set to line up in this weekend’s G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick Racecourse.
The Haggas-trained Al Mubhir failed to fire in the G1 Doncaster Mile last time out, while the handler said Champions Day “may come too soon” for Maljoom after he kept on well to finish third in the Dubai Turf. Haggas also said he is “undecided” whether his Golden Eagle (1500m) winner Lake Forest will line up in the Champions Mile.
Fellow British trainer Karl Burke, on the other hand, is set to run Royal Champion in the QEII Cup. The trainer told Idol Horse he is confident his seven-year-old can mix it at the top level after a comfortable G3 Winter Derby win at Southwell Racecourse (2234m) in February.
“I think he has a chance of becoming a proper Group 1 horse,” Burke said. “It’s such a huge prize pot and [owner] Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum was happy for us to aim him at it, so he’ll leave for Hong Kong on the 18th if everything goes well.”
After finishing his four-year-old campaign with a runner-up effort in Group 1 company at Woodbine Racecourse, Royal Champion raced three times in Australia last year before joining Burke’s yard. His best effort Down Under came when he finished second in the G2 Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley in October.
“He won the Winter Derby nicely and, if I’m honest, I’m not sure he was at his best there either,” Burke said. “A couple of things happened at home which we were a little bit concerned about but he went there and put up a great performance.
“He’s a great traveller and that was one of the main reasons for targeting it. He came back from Australia in great shape so we’re looking forward to it.”
While Ka Ying Rising will be a tough nut to crack in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize, Japan’s Danon McKinley may step up to tackle the world’s highest-rated sprinter at Sha Tin after his respectable fourth in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint (1200m) ∎
