01 February 2024 , 10:43
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The King and Queen have reason to look forward to Royal Ascot in 2024.
One of their best horses will be heading back to the world famous race meeting seeking more big race glory.
In 2023 Desert Hero delivered one of the high points of the five day fixture by winning the King George V Stakes.
The colt went on to gain further success at Glorious Goodwood before finishing a gallant third in the St Leger, the final Classic of the season.
King Charles and Queen Camilla made a rare trip to Doncaster to see their horse place behind Continuous, trained by Aidan O’Brien, and Arrest.
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Since then trainer William Haggas has looked into sending Desert Hero to Australia for the Melbourne Cup and the forthcoming Sydney Autumn Carnival, staged during March and April, but a decision has been made to keep him at home for now.
“We have decided that His Majesty's horse will not be coming to Sydney in the autumn,” Haggis told Radio TAB Australia.
“We may well come down at the back end of the year, your spring, but I just felt he needed a bit more time and they concurred.
“We are going to concentrate on going to Royal Ascot for the Hardwicke Stakes which will be his first major target.”
He went on: “He’s done very well this winter. He will benefit from all the time he can get. It’s do we press the button now or wait a bit and we plumped for the wait a bit.
“He got better and better last year and we think he’s done better again this winter so I am very pleased with him.”
Haggas has found Australia a lucrative destination in recent years, landing three of the last four editions of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Addeybb (twice) and Dubai Honour, the latest to plunder the £1.7 million first prize.
The trainer said Dubai Honour would be returning to Sydney for another crack at Group 1 glory.
“We go into quarantine on February 15,” he said. “His whole summer was based around getting him ready to go to Sydney in February/March. I hope he will be the same horse he was.”