17-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Adrian Bott eyes dream international debut with Royal Patronage in Champions Mile
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have set Royal Patronage for the Champions Mile. Photo: HKJC
Australian handler prepares to break new ground with first overseas runner in Hong Kong on Sunday week
He's conquered some of Australia's biggest races in partnership with an icon of the sport, but Adrian Bott is excited to break new ground when he has his first overseas runner at Sha Tin next week.
Royal Patronage will mark the 37-year-old's first international venture and his co-trainer Gai Waterhouse's first Hong Kong starter in 18 years when he tackles the Group One Champions Mile.
After joining Waterhouse in a training partnership in 2016, Bott has celebrated 27 Group One successes including the Golden Slipper, Thousand Guineas and VRC Oaks.
Waterhouse is known as Australia's first lady of racing, having broken down barriers for women in the sport and earning legend status in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame for her historic feats as a trainer.
Her last runner in Hong Kong was Grand Armee, who ran 11th in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) in 2005.
Royal Patronage WINS the G1 Canterbury Stakes in a really tough win! 🏆@GaiWaterhouse1 — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 8, 2025
'I'm looking forward to it,' an excited Bott said.
'We've always been keen to travel a horse internationally whenever we have the right horse and the right opportunity. It's all fallen into place with Royal Patronage. Hopefully it's worth the trip.'
Royal Patronage arrives in Hong Kong on Friday with top form, including a Group One triumph in the Canterbury Stakes (1,300m) at Randwick in March and a close second to Stefi Magnetica in the Group One Doncaster Mile last start.
The son of Wootton Bassett started his career in Britain, notching three straight wins for trainer Mark Johnston in 2021 before adding a Keeneland victory to his record in America for the Graham Motion stable.
He was bought by Waterhouse and Bott on behalf of a syndicate of owners for 260,000 guineas at Britain's Tatts Sale in 2023 and finished in the first four in seven of eight runs in Australia.
'We always held it open at the start of the prep when the early entries came through,' Bott said of the Champions Mile option.
'The Doncaster was his main aim and after that, he was three runs in and we thought 'where do we go?'.
'The Mile was always the option if he ran well in the Doncaster, which he did. The George Ryder Stakes [fourth] and the Doncaster runs gave us the confidence to say 'now's the right time'.
'He's a horse that's pretty well seasoned and travelled, he's still lightly raced this campaign and he's in form.
'His two victories first up at Randwick were on good tracks, so I think the conditions we're likely to see over there will certainly suit him.'
Bott said another factor in setting Royal Patronage for the Champions Mile was his future prospects as a stallion. An international Group One victory or placing would be a major boost.
Tim Clark, who spent three years in Hong Kong and racked up 59 winners, will continue his association with Royal Patronage in the HK$24 million feature.
'Tim's had a fair bit to do with the horse all the way through and he's had experience up there before, which is probably the biggest benefit,' Bott said.
A winner at six of 23 starts, Royal Patronage takes on a star-studded field headlined by Hong Kong's top miler Voyage Bubble, nine-time Australian Group One winner Mr Brightside, Britain's Lake Forest and local Group One placegetter Galaxy Patch.
Mr Brightside did some light work on the Sha Tin dirt on Thursday morning under the watchful eye of Hong Kong-based trainer David Hayes, the father of the gelding's trainers Ben, Will and JD. He has settled in well since arriving in the city on Tuesday morning.
