 |
|
| Staff Writer |
 |
As Heart Of Honor prepares to tackle the Preakness Stakes this Saturday, he's carrying not just the dreams of his connections but potentially making history as the first English runner to contest the second leg of the American Triple Crown. For trainer Jamie Osborne, who spoke exclusively to Ten Furlongs Magazine last week, this ambitious transatlantic tilt represents the culmination of a carefully orchestrated plan—and perhaps the beginning of an even grander international adventure.
The 3YO son of Honor A.P. completed his final breeze at Osborne's Lambourn base before flying to America last Thursday. The workout convinced his handler that the time was right to embark on this bold American campaign.
"He did one of the best pieces of work he's probably ever done, and so that gave us the confidence to put him on that aeroplane," Osborne revealed in our exclusive interview with Ten Furlongs. "We were very open-minded about this trip to the States. We clearly weren't going to do it unless the horse was telling us that he was ready to do it, and he's come back from Dubai and hit the ground running. He's thriving. He doesn't appear to need a break at the moment."
Heart Of Honor's journey to Baltimore's Pimlico racecourse represents just one facet of an ambitious international campaign mapped out by Osborne. Despite earning qualification for the Kentucky Derby through his agonising nose defeat in the UAE Derby at Meydan in April, connections deliberately bypassed the first leg of the American Triple Crown.
"The Kentucky Derby was evidently going to be too soon for him," Osborne explained. "Logistically, it might be nearly impossible to ship from Dubai back here to England and then to America. The extra couple of weeks will probably be to our benefit."
This patient approach forms part of a broader strategy that could see Heart Of Honor tackle the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga in early June before returning to England for a well-earned break.
"The short-term plan is to have the two races in the States and bring him home at the beginning of June, after the Belmont. Then he will have a break," explained Osborne. "He's been on the go quite a long time. I don't want to take him for granted, so we'll give him a bit of a spell, and then we'll be working back from a campaign in the Middle East next winter."
For Osborne, Heart Of Honor's dirt-track ability has always been the primary consideration in campaign planning. "He's an out-and-out dirt horse, so the only alternative to not doing this would be just to give him a break and wait for the autumn to go back to the UAE to have a Middle East campaign," he explained.
"I think he's a magnificent horse," Osborne stated with conviction. "I think he was only really coming to himself at the end of his Dubai trip. He stepped up in the UAE Derby and on anything he'd done previously, but we'd seen a physical change in him in the six weeks leading up to that race."
Long-term ambitions for the promising colt extend far beyond this spring's American adventure. "By doing this, hopefully we'll also take in the Belmont. We'll ship him up to Saratoga after the Preakness, and then he can come home, he can have his break, and then we can work back from hopefully, with normal improvement, into a horse that could compete in next year's Saudi Cup, next year's Dubai World Cup," Osborne explained.
Looking further ahead, the trainer added: "The dream for 2026 is that he's a horse that could compete in a Breeders' Cup Classic."
Unlike many European trainers who might focus exclusively on turf racing, Osborne has deliberately positioned himself to campaign horses internationally on dirt surfaces. "It's not normal for an English trainer to do, but then an English trainer doesn't normally sit here with dirt-bred horses. So, we're in a fairly unusual position."
Osborne was matter-of-fact when asked about the horse's ability to handle the rigours of international travel: "Well, he hasn't had a lot of choice. When we bought him, we bought him in the hope that he would turn out to be a good dirt horse, and that's what's happened. So, it's inevitable that his whole career with us will be spent in other jurisdictions."
 |  |
Strategic Investment Pays Dividends
Heart Of Honor represents the successful realisation of a targeted buying strategy implemented by Osborne and owners Jim and Claire Bryce. The colt, purchased for €160,000 (US$172,300) at the 2024 Arqana May 2YO Breeze Up Sale in France, was selected explicitly with Middle East campaigns in mind.
"When we bought him, we bought him in the hope that he would turn out to be a good dirt horse, and that's what's happened," Osborne explained. "For Jim and Claire Bryce, who own him, he was bought in the hope that he could do a Dubai season last winter, which he did, winning two of his five races, and arguably unlucky not to win all five, being second narrowly in all the other three. So, he's satisfied with that for them. But thankfully, now they want more of it. I'd like some more of it."
The Bryces, who sold a software business after Jim described the venture as "a long slog" of over 30 years, have enthusiastically embraced racehorse ownership. Claire admits they're "very much like kids in a sweet shop right now" regarding their racing investments.
This targeted approach to buying American-bred dirt horses has proven successful enough that Osborne is already planning return visits to the European breeze-up sales this spring. "It's very much on our radar now," he confirmed when asked about purchasing more horses for Middle East campaigns.
"We're always looking for suitable horses to travel," he added. "Obviously, this is a relatively new venture to buy dirt horses, and at the moment, we're just utilising the European breeze-up market. So, we rely heavily on the guys that go to Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton and buy yearlings to bring to Europe to breeze."
This won't be Osborne's first foray into American racing at the highest level. In 2014, his star Toast Of New York memorably finished an agonising nose second to Bayern in that year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita, having previously won the UAE Derby at Meydan.
"We nearly won a Breeders' Cup Classic on dirt, but that was with a horse having his first run on the surface. We had a hunch when we took him there, but we weren't sure. He'd done all his racing on grass, Toast Of New York. He put up a lifetime best in his first run on dirt," Osborne recalled.
"As far as I know, I don't think there's ever been an English runner in the Preakness," Osborne noted. "I might be wrong, but I think it's the first runner for the nation. Yeah, I'm excited. Look, it's something different. It's not the normal thing for an English trainer to do."
Osborne noted a fascinating evolution when asked about similarities between the two horses. "If you asked me three or four months ago, I'd say, 'No.' Heart Of Honor didn't have Toast's strength besides being big, scopey, good-looking, good-actioned horses. But I've physically seen Heart Of Honor change in the last three months."
The physical development Osborne has observed in recent months gives him confidence that Heart Of Honor could similarly exceed expectations on American soil. "I was worried in his penultimate race out there that he looked a little bit on the weak side, and maybe he was looking for a break, and then he just flourished."
This development has continued since returning from Dubai. "When he got off the plane, he told me he wasn't ready for a break. He's thrived since he's been back. He's a hardy kind of horse," Osborne said. "With that in mind, we thought this was worth a shot. He's only three once. There's nothing in the UK for him."
The journey from England to the Preakness presented significant logistical challenges. Following his departure last Thursday, Heart Of Honor underwent a mandatory 48-hour quarantine at Churchill Downs in Kentucky before vanning to Pimlico on Monday.
"He's going to have a difficult prep for this race," Osborne conceded. "He's going to canter here in Lamborn, UK, tomorrow morning, and then he'll leave for the airport tomorrow afternoon. Because of the quarantine, he's got to go via Louisville. We'll do his quarantine at Churchill for 48 hours, and then we can hopefully canter him on the track at Churchill Sunday morning and Monday morning. He will van across to Pimlico on Monday afternoon."
Osborne continued, "It's a very tight schedule. It's not the perfect preparation, but the only way we can do it. I think we've done enough work with him here. He did his last breeze last week, 11 days out, but he's quite a clean, winded horse. He arrived back from Dubai very fit."
Despite these challenges, the trainer-maintained faith in his colt's ability to handle the disruption. "While there are many moving parts to this plan, he seems to be the type of horse that will take it. He's quite robust, so fingers crossed that all goes well, and we won't see too many ill effects of that kind of preparation."
Heart Of Honor's Preakness bid has gained additional emotional significance as Osborne's 23-year-old daughter Saffie takes the ride. The young jockey, who has partnered the colt in three of his six career starts, including the UAE Derby, could become the first female jockey to win a Preakness, having already made history as the first female jockey to win a race in Dubai.
"She's a great team player. She knows this horse inside out," Osborne said with paternal pride. "There will be those who say we should be using somebody with local knowledge and much more experience riding on the dirt. But she's our jockey, she's part of the team. Jim and Claire would like her to stay on the horse."
The trainer believes in his daughter's abilities: "I'm confident she's well up to the task. Saf will do her homework. She knows the horse, so I have no worries on that front."
Reflecting on what would be an emotional moment if the father-daughter combination could triumph on the international stage, Osborne added: "I think, however, he runs in Pimlico, it would be a marginally empty experience for us if we were doing it without her. I'm not saying my whole life is about promoting her career, but it's been a bit that way for the last couple of years. I've given her the platform, and she's grasped it and run with it. And it's nice to give her a chance on the international stage in a classic."
"We're under no illusions, it's a tough ask for him," Osborne acknowledged, "but I believe he's not a forlorn hope."
Now, as Heart Of Honor has completed its journey to Baltimore, Osborne and his team await Saturday's historic bid with anticipation and sporting optimism.
"We'll just keep the moving parts oiled and that's all we can do," Osborne concluded. "It's a big ask for any horse to do this, but we're sportsmen. It's an adventure."