‘She should be 3/1 on’: English trainer William Haggas declares Via Sistina should be odds-on for Queen Elizabeth showdown against Dubai Honour

English maestro William Haggas says James McDonald’s reluctance to split Horse of the Year-elect Via Sistina and Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior is the ultimate compliment to the mighty mare.

English maestro William Haggas has suggested jockey James McDonald’s reluctance to split Horse of the Year-elect Via Sistina and Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior is the ultimate compliment to the mighty mare.

Haggas made this assessment as he tries to engineer another Group 1 coup with Dubai Honour in the $1.5 million Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

The much-travelled Dubai Honour is back in Sydney for the first time since he won the Ranvet Stakes-Queen Elizabeth Stakes Group 1 double here two years ago.

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Dubai Honour is also likely to have a showdown with Chris Waller’s super mare Via Sistina in the $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on April 12.

But Haggas believes Via Sistina should be a “3/1 on favourite” for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes given her imperious recent form since joining the Waller stable and McDonald continually mentioning Via Sistina in the same sentence as Romantic Warrior.

“If James is not prepared to say one is better than the other then that is as big a compliment as Via Sistina can have because Romantic Warrior is world class,” Haggas said from his Newmarket stables in England.

“What Romantic Warrior has done is nothing short of remarkable. If you bear in mind he has spent his entire career going right-handed then he leaves to win the Cox Plate going left-handed.

“Then he does the same thing in Japan and Dubai before he goes to Saudi Arabia and most of us think he probably should have won the Saudi Cup.

“That race was on dirt and no horse runs the same on dirt as they do on turf but he did.

⚜️ Wow! Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock x Nigh) smashes the track record with a stunning 8l victory in the G1 Cox Plate under @mcacajamez for @cwallerracing at @TheValley 🏆

That’s FIVE G1s for the Yulong-owned mare! #aworldofopportunitypic.twitter.com/Iir4o2guqH

— Yulong Investments (@YulongInvest) October 26, 2024

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“Romantic Warrior is a really wonderful racehorse and a very genuine one. I am fulsome in my admiration for him.

“But Via Sistina is a fantastic ‘filly’, she is so reliable. She doesn’t win by far but she doesn’t need to. She should be 3/1 on for the Queen Elizabeth.”

Haggas has watched from afar as Via Sistina, who raced at a high level in England, Ireland and France, has cut a swathe through Australia’s best weight-for-age races in the last 12 months, winning seven Group 1 races.

“She won the Pretty Polly Stakes which is a good Group 1 race in Ireland,” Haggas said.

“But from what I have seen of her in Australia, she looks to have come forward from that.”

Via Sistina is the $1.70 TAB Fixed Odds favourite for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes ahead of Ceolwulf at $6 then Dubai Honour at $8.

With Via Sistina going straight to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, we get to see Ceolwulf (Group 2 $300,000 Neville Sellwood Stakes) and Dubai Honour at Saturday’s Rosehill meeting.

Haggas conceded Dubai Honour is more suited in 2400m races these days than the 2000m specialist we saw in Sydney two years ago.

DUBAI HONOUR WINS THE G1 QUEEN ELIZABETH!

The battle we had all been waiting for, @WilliamHaggas and @TomMarquand have achieved the feat once again. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/t36Q3MWjZO

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 8, 2023

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“I think he wants 2400m now,” Haggas said. “He won a Group 1 in France over 2400m last year, and he ran well in Dubai and Hong Kong.

“He is probably not quick enough for 2000m, really, but having said that he might end up in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and then possibly go to Hong Kong for the 2000m race there. We will see how he goes on Saturday.”

Dubai Honour has a reputation as a superior mudlark and the weather forecast suggests he will get conditions to suit at Rosehill – or will he?

“I’m not absolutely convinced he wants a wet track these days but he will cope with it as he has done so before,” Haggas said.

“Interestingly, he’s a bit like Via Sistina. In Europe, Via Sistina had to have a wet track but now she enjoys a fast track.

“Dubai Honour had to have a wet track when he was young but now he has run some really solid races on a dry track.

“He’s just a good horse and I think he has a very good chance in the Tancred on Saturday.”

Originally published as ‘She should be 3/1 on’: English trainer William Haggas declares Via Sistina should be odds-on for Queen Elizabeth showdown against Dubai Honour