Al Riffa set for battle in Hong Kong as Australian Bloodstock’s globetrotter tackles Vase
Dual Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m)-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien believes Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett) can provide him with a first winner at Hong Kong’s prestigious International meeting when the entire takes his chance in Sunday’s Hong Kong Vase (Gr 1, 2400m) at Sha Tin.
Al Riffa, who is a five-year-old by Coolmore’s late sire sensation Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj), has already given a glimpse of what he can do on the international stage with a second to Godolphin’s globetrotter Rebel’s Romance (Dubawi) at Royal Ascot in June and a last-start seventh in November’s Melbourne Cup.
Drawn wide in barrier 19 in the 24-runner field at Flemington, and shouldering top weight of 59 kilograms, Al Riffa found himself at the rear of the field under Mark Zahra and made up ground in the latter stages of the Cup to grab seventh – nine and a quarter lengths behind the winner Half Yours (St Jean).
“We were satisfied with his run in Melbourne, and now we are looking forward to Hong Kong,” O’Brien said. “After that, we could also look at the Dubai World Cup next year.”
O’Brien believes the Australian Bloodstock-owned Irish St Leger (Gr 1, 1m 6f) winner is now ready for a serious international campaign as he lines up in Hong Kong for the first time.
“He’s a big powerful horse,” O’Brien said. “His form has been really consistent over the past few seasons at a very high level, and when being shipped around the world, he has taken the travel in his stride.
“He’s had a busy season so far and we’re looking forward to him running in Hong Kong. I think he’s probably the ideal type for the Vase. His second behind Rebel’s Romance [in the Hardwicke Stakes] was over the same distance on fast ground, conditions not too dissimilar to what he will get at Sha Tin.”
Al Riffa first came to prominence in his native Ireland when winning the National Stakes (Gr 1, 7f) at the Curragh as a two-year-old. He popped up on the radar again when second to the subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Ace Impact (Cracksman) in the Prix Guillaume D’Ornano (Gr 2, 2000m) at Deauville as a three-year-old at only his fifth start.
O’Brien said there was good reason the young horse was sparingly raced at that stage.
“He was getting ready for the Irish 2,000 Guineas but returned a dirty scope and had to bypass the race,” he said. “He had picked up a little bug, and it meant he missed the first part of his three-year-old campaign.
“Then he was being aimed at the Irish Champion Stakes and suffered another set-back. After that, there wasn’t really anything suitable left for him at that point of the season. We didn’t want to travel him. He just got a bit unlucky and missed a couple of key stages of that year.”
Al Riffa’s four-year-old days were more straightforward. Gathering experience and gaining in physical strength, it became a significant season as he landed another top-level contest.
“He won his Group 1 in Germany [in the Grosser Preis von Berlin] and he was second to City Of Troy in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes,” O’Brien said.
“He had some really high-class pieces of form in there. And this year, at five, we’ve gradually eased him in, stepping him up in trip, and he’s gone to a new level again. He’s also proven versatile when it comes to track conditions [going].
“At Royal Ascot, he had a rating of 117 on the day on fast ground, and when he won the Irish St Leger, it was on the soft side and he got 120. The ground is not a problem for him.”
Dylan Browne McMonagle, who has ridden Al Riffa for all five of his wins, will be back in the saddle in the Hong Kong Vase, where the pair will take on fellow international raiders Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman), winner of the race last year, and the 2024 Irish Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Los Angeles (Camelot), trained by O’Brien’s father, Aidan.
O’Brien junior will also be represented in Sunday’s Hong Kong Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) where the four-year-old Galen (Gleneagles) will be bidding for a breakthrough win in elite-level company, having finished second in last month’s Bahrain International Trophy (Gr 2, 2000m) on his most recent start.
Having broken Andre Fabre’s record for a French trainer by sending out 13 Group 1 wins in a calendar year, Francis Graffard will also be doubly represented at the valuable meeting courtesy of Goliath (Adlerflug) and Quisisana (Le Havre).
Daryz (Sea The Stars) brought Graffard a first victory in October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m), while Zarigana (Siyouni) and Gezora (Almanzor) bagged French Classics.
However, it is on the world stage that the trainer has made the greatest strides, with Gezora landing the stable’s maiden victory at the Breeders’ Cup, and Calandagan (Gleneagles) most recently made him the first international trainer to win the Japan Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) since 2005.
Graffard sends Resolute Racing’s Goliath (Adlerflug) to the Hong Kong Vase, after having finished ninth in the QEII Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) earlier this year, while Quisisana (Le Havre) will be making her first long-distance voyage in the Hong Kong Cup (Gr 1, 2000m).
“I’m very happy with them both; they worked well at Chantilly racecourse on Wednesday, and they seem in top shape,” Graffard said.
Goliath has produced elite-level victories in both the 2024 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 4f) and this year’s Grosser Preis von Baden (Gr 1, 2400m).
“Through the season, I tried to rebuild his confidence and his physical ability. He was really well for America and he travelled really well, so that was a good sign that a long journey isn’t a problem anymore,” Graffard said.
“It’s a strong race but with quite an open feel to it. As we know with Goliath, everything needs to go his way for him to give his best.”
With Ryan Moore returning from injury in time to resume duty for Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore partners, Christophe Soumillon will be back on board both Graffard’s runners.
Soumillon guided Quisisana to a maiden elite-level success in Deauville’s Prix Jean Romanet (Gr 1, 2000m), and in doing so, the mare booked herself a “win-and-you’re-in” spot in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
“After the Arc, we ran her in the Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes and she ran really well, but I definitely think a mile and a half is too far for her,” Graffard said.
“She is a long-striding filly and I think a mile-and-a-quarter will be better for her, while I couldn’t be happier with her condition.
“She’s in top form. Obviously, Romantic Warrior is all but impossible to beat, but I think my filly will run well and she can get a good place.”
Graffard, whose only previous HKIR runner came when Karar (Invincible Spirit) finished 13th in the 2017 Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m), added: “It’s a meeting we have to be part of, but it’s quite hard to have the horses in top shape so late in the season. Both of them seem to be in great condition, so I’m very happy to be part of the meeting.”