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| Staff Writer |
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Russian Emperor, the two-time Hong Kong Champion Stayer for 2021/22 and 2022/23, is set to embark on a journey to Doha, Qatar, on Friday. His goal is to achieve back-to-back victories in the prestigious QAT Gr.1 H.H. The Amir Trophy, covering a distance of 2400m at Al Rayyan. Trainer Douglas Whyte will be at the helm of this endeavor.
"He leaves on Friday night and he'll have an easy day on Saturday followed by a few nice canters across the next few days. I'll jump on him on Tuesday morning – he'll have a turf gallop
"He's been there and he's a professional at travelling – he loves it and he's very smart. He'll be in the same quarantine box and same environment. I'm looking forward to getting over there," Whyte said.
On Tuesday morning at Sha Tin, the Russian Emperor began preparations for his Middle East adventure with a turf barrier trial over 1600m. Under jockey Brenton Avdulla, he cruised through the trial and finished third with a time of 1m 37.73s.
"That was a beautiful trial. He travelled nicely and did everything that was asked of him in the straight – he hit the line strongly and it was a nice top-off piece of work ahead of the 17th of February," Whyte said.
Under jockey Hugh Bowman, Romantic Warrior finished first in the same exercise before his HK$13 million Gr.1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup race on 25 February, which is being trained by Danny Shum.
With a total earning of HK$47.99 million, Russian Emperor, who is sired by Galileo, had suffered a left front fetlock injury towards the end of last November.
"He's always had niggling issues and we've managed him carefully in the past and he seems as good as gold at the moment," Whyte said.
Russian Emperor has been successful in Hong Kong three times, all of which have been at Group one level. In the past, he won the 2022 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup against Golden Sixty, as well as two Gr.1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup victories in 2022 and 2023.
In the recent HK$13 million Gr.1 Stewards' Cup, Russian Emperor finished in seventh place, behind Voyage Bubble.
"There's Rebel's Romance and Zeffiro – he ran second in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (G1, 2400m). So, it's a tougher assignment in Qatar but my horse has fresh legs and he's in good order," Whyte said.
There are several horses being considered to participate in the H.H. The Amir Trophy, which is worth US$2.5 million. These include Israr, Point Lonsdale, Satono Glanz, North Bridge, and Simca Mille.
In an attempt to regain its prime performance, California Spangle underwent a trial run under Bowman for trainer Tony Cruz earlier today. It was part of the first batch, where it led throughout and completed the run in 58.33s.
Harry Bentley will be riding Watch Buddy for trainer Ricky Yiu in the second section of the Victoria Park Handicap on Wednesday. Watch Buddy has already won three out of five starts at Happy Valley and is seeking its second victory in group three.
"He's an ultra-consistent type and he's done nothing but improve. I really liked him when I first sat on him last season," Bentley said.
The 4YO will be nine pounds heavier after his last win. He will face 11 rivals, including the rapidly improving Healthy Healthy, who has won three times this season and weighs 128 pounds.
"He's (Watch Buddy) quite a good size horse, he's not overly tall but he's stocky so he should handle the added weight ok – but it's a factor to consider. The draw (two) will help him – he can just bounce out and sit somewhere behind the pace," Bentley said.
On Sunday at Sha Tin, Bentley and Yiu joined forces with Sunlight Power. Now, let's turn our attention to Wednesday's nine-race event at Happy Valley, which begins with the first section of the Class 5 Shan Kwong Road Park Handicap.