David Hayes hopes for a Champions & Chater upset with Rubylot against ‘horse to beat' Dubai Honour
Trainer praying for some rain to help his Classic Cup (1,800m) winner measure up at the elite level
Dubai Honour is the 'horse to beat' in Sunday's Group One Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) but David Hayes is relishing the chance to try and cause an upset with Classic Cup (1,800m) winner Rubylot.
Rubylot ran sixth in the first leg of the Classic Series, the Classic Mile, before defying $14 odds to come from nearly last to first to mow down My Wish and win the Classic Cup.
The four-year-old ran another stormer when finishing strongly into fifth in the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) and was last seen finishing an unlucky sixth in the Group One FWD QE II Cup (2,000m) on Champions Day.
Rubylot was shuffled to the back of the field after an inside trip and his rider Hugh Bowman had to take the daring route between horses, copping a sizeable bump before lashing home.
Rubylot mows them down in the Hong Kong Classic Cup at Sha Tin! My Wish is brave in defeat as @brentonavdulla and David Hayes combine for victory... 🏆#4YOSeries | #LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/5YiJeHY1Ub — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 2, 2025
Hayes reports Rubylot is in flying form in the mornings as he prepares to watch the Rubick galloper have his final piece of work.
'We're up at Conghua for his final piece of work on Tuesday before Sunday's big day,' said Hayes. 'He's working like a horse that's really peaking and not going off.
'He's by Rubick so some people would say he wouldn't run a mile and a half, but if you look at the dam's side, it's a very dour European type.
'With luck, I think he could have easily placed in the QE II Cup and that's the elite level. Hugh [Bowman] is very confident he can run a placing and be competitive with the locals.'
The race has been billed as a clash between the Triple Crown-seeking Voyage Bubble and top-class foreign raider Dubai Honour, with the rest of the runners making up a supporting cast.
Voyage Bubble will bid to become just the second Hong Kong Triple Crown winner on Sunday after wins in the Group One Stewards' Cup (1,600m) and the Group One Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m), but like a vast majority of the locals he has stamina to prove on his first try at the trip.
No such reservations are held for William Haggas' Dubai Honour, who is a two-time Group One winner at the 2,400m distance, most recently when flashing home to collect the Group One Tancred Stakes at Rosehill (2,400m).
He is proven at Sha Tin by virtue of his narrow second in the Group One Hong Kong Vase (2,400m) back in December and Hayes is under no illusions about who is the horse to beat.
A fourth Group 1 for Dubai Honour! 🏆@TomMarquand's mount protected his 100% record in Australia earlier this morning, seeing off Duke De Sessa to land the Tancred Stakes for @WilliamHaggas... pic.twitter.com/jToAy2ZWBQ — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 1, 2025
'Dubai Honour is the horse to beat, he's got nothing to prove compared to the local horses,' said Hayes. 'People have billed it as a clash between him and Voyage Bubble and I do see it that way as well.
'If there's a horse that can cause an upset, maybe that's us, but realistically I'd be over the moon to run in the first three. I have incredible respect for Voyage Bubble.
'I haven't looked at Voyage Bubble's pedigree but he's very good at 2,000m – if it rains then Rubylot will love it and it will make things very interesting.'
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