JAMIE OSBORNE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SUCCESS IN THE UAE DERBY
British trainer Jamie Osborne has his eyes set on the Group 2 UAE Derby as he prepares HEART OF HONOR (GB) for the $1,000,000 prize on Dubai World Cup night. Osborne, whose trains in Lambourn in Berkshire, will aim to take honours in the race again after the emphatic victory of TOAST OF NEW YORK in 2014.
Heart Of Honor has been campaigned at Meydan since the start of the Dubai Racing Carnival, earning two victories before only just missing in his last two outings despite finishing strongly.
The colt bred by David Redvers at Tweenhills in Gloucestershire will go into his race on World Cup night with a change in gear as his trainer has equipped him with a set of blinkers. He will be partnered with Osborne’s daughter Saffie in the big race.
Great British Racing International spoke to Osborne about his hopes with Heart Of Honor:
“Heart Of Honor won his first two races in Dubai and was not disgraced in defeat in his last two races. I think there were factors involved in his last defeat and I don’t think he was at his best. We learnt a lot about him.
“I think he just needs to be sharper through the gate and sharper through the first half of his races and the application of blinkers is to help him with that.
"We have got him in a better place now than we got him before the Al Bastakiya. We are hopeful that he will run his best race next Saturday.
On the experience, Osborne added:
“It’s great for the owners, who have trusted me to do this. The plan when we bought him was always to bring him to Dubai for a Middle Eastern winter campaign with the hope that he would make it to the Derby. Thankfully this plan has worked out so far but we have got one more mission to accomplish.”
He also came back on Toast Of New York’s victory in the UAE Derby in 2014:
“Toast Of New York’s win is something that look back with pride, and getting the opportunity to do it again this year with Heart Of Honor is special. It’s even more special to get to do it with Saffie on board.
"When Toast Of New York won it, she was eleven years old and was screaming at the television at home. When we arrived home from Dubai, she had made all the banners for his stable and was very excited so it’s thrilling to get the chance to do it again with her.”
Osborne, the only British trainer to have won the UAE Derby, has been a regular in Dubai in recent years, sending runners regularly and recording victories with horses such as CLIFFS OF CAPRI (GB) and OUZO (GB).
He also won the Dukhan Sprint in Qatar in 2023 with EMARAATY ANA (GB), finished fourth in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup in 2022 with ALIGNAK (GB) and was a runner-up on Saudi Cup night in 2020 with MEKONG (GB).
On his interests in racing in Dubai and the Middle East, he added:
“Personally, I enjoy coming to race in Dubai and the Middle East during the British off-season and my clients enjoy racing their horses here to. We’ve had a good year this year in Dubai and my horses have won plenty of prize money finishing placed in big races. We look forward to coming back again next year as it works well before our racing starts here in the UK.”