The William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour preserved his unblemished record in Sydney group 1 races when he added the April 2 Tancred Stakes (G1) at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse to his back-to-back 2023 triumphs in the Ranvet Stakes (G1) and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1).
With nine of the 11 runners bred in the Northern Hemisphere, this apparent domination came to fruition at the finish with imports filling the first nine spots, and a pair of New Zealand-breds running tenth and last respectively.
Despite being an Irish-bred, Australia can still lay claim to Dubai Honour with the gelding being from the first of Pride Of Dubai's three Northern Hemisphere-bred crops. The win was also an important one for the Coolmore Stud stallion, propelling him back to the top of Australia's general sires table by earnings, seeing him move a little under AU$1 million in front of his nearest rival, Zoustar.
Dubai Honour earned Haggas a sixth group 1 in the Harbour City and also delivered a late present for jockey Tom Marquand, who gave the evergreen 7-year-old a textbook steer two days after celebrating his 27th birthday.
Provided he pulls up well, Dubai Honour will now attempt to secure a second Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1), setting up the potential for a mouthwatering clash with Chris Waller's stable star Via Sistina in 10 days' time.
Dubai Honour and last-start winner Vauban vied for favoritism in a heated pre-race betting tussle, and while it was the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding who eventually edged that battle, it was Dubai Honour who won the war with a strong staying performance in the sort of conditions he relishes.
The give in the ground worked in his favor, as Dubai Honour eventually pulled clear of Ciaron Maher's gallant Caulfield Cup (G1) winner Duke De Sessa with Vauban rounding out the top three under Tim Clark.
Such is his docile demeanour, Haggas' stable representative Isabella Paul compared Dubai Honour to a pet "labrador". But the labrador had to fight like a lion to score his ninth career win by three-quarters of a length.
"Anyone that knows me knows how special this horse is to me and the whole team," said Paul.
"He is an absolute star, and at 7 years old he has proved again that he is at that top-class level so I couldn't be happier. He's the most perfect horse to travel, he never misses a beat. We never have to worry about him and he is the easiest horse in the world.
"We joke that he is like a labrador because he is just like my pet. I'm so proud of him, proud of Tom (Marquand) and the whole team. He's just so cool and such a talented animal."
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Treasurethe Moment Rises to Top of her Division with Vinery Stud Success
It was a terrific Tuesday for Yulong as the racing and breeding juggernaut celebrated dual stakes success courtesy of their homebred duo Treasurethe Moment and Pocketing, the respective winners of the Vinery Stud Stakes (G1) and the Tulloch Stakes (G2), also at Rosehill.
Having negotiated a 50% share in Nathan Doyle's speed machine Private Harry late last week, splashing a reported AU$8 million on the unbeaten colt, Yulong's owner Zhang Yuesheng recouped a small chunk of that expenditure thanks to the exploits of a pair of 3-year-olds conceived, born, and raised on his Nagambie farm.
With Chris Waller's multiple group 1 winner Lady Shenandoah currently spelling, there can be no doubt Treasurethe Moment is the country's best filly still in training as she extended her picket fence of wins to seven with another imperious performance for trainer Matt Laurie and jockey Damian Lane.
Despite Laurie's pre-race reservations that the attritional track conditions might be her undoing, Treasurethe Moment doubled her tally of group 1 wins and carried her prize money past AUS$1.8 million courtesy of her 1.2-length defeat of Benagil, with Waller's Declichy Boulevard rounding out the top three.
The filly justified her cramped quote of AU$1.40 and she is likely to jump at equally prohibitive odds in the Australian Oaks (G1) April 12, her final assignment of the autumn before she is sent for a rest ahead of a spring campaign which is likely to be geared towards the Cox Plate (G1).
"She's a dream horse," said Laurie. "She'll learn a lot today, because I think she got a little bit lost and she didn't have that trail into the race. They spread out and she was sitting out on a limb with nothing really to follow, but when she got into the race she was really good late so she's only going to be better for the experience heading into the Oaks."
Treasurethe Moment's victory completed a very satisfactory 72 hours for her sire, Alabama Express (Redoute's Choice), whose speedy daughter Alabama Lass led her rivals a merry dance in Saturday's World Pool Sprint Classic at Flemington.
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