William Buick, who should know, says Rebel’s Romance has blossomed into a “real international superstar” and few could argue after the Dubawi gelding dominated Hong Kong’s best stayers in the Champions & Chater Cup (G1) May 26 at Sha Tin Racecourse.
The two-length victory over Five G Patch, with La City Blanche third, was the fifth top-level win for the Godolphin star, following on from the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) at Keeneland, two in Germany and one in Dubai. Rebel’s Romance finished the 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) in 2:25.62 over a course rated good despite a rainy week in Hong Kong.
Buick kept Rebel’s Romance second behind the early leader down the riverside backstretch, started to close things up with 600 meters to run and looked like the winner as he straightened for home. At 200 meters, he was well clear with none of Hong Kong’s best able to muster opposition.
La City Blanche and Five G Patch finished 1-2 in the Queen Mother Memorial Cup (G3) in their previous start, also against the cream of Hong Kong stayers. The other five finishing in Rebel’s Romance’s wake included reigning Hong Kong Derby winner Massive Sovereign and Russian Emperor , who was seeking a third straight win in the Champions & Chater Cup.
Doubly impressive, Rebel’s Romance became the first foreign-trained winner of the race, which is the final group 1 event of Hong Kong’s season.
“He’s done it really well,” Buick said. “You always respect the local horses here in Hong Kong and obviously he had to travel over here and everything else.
“He’s a horse who likes to get into his stride, he relaxes beautifully and gets into a nice rhythm. He probably came under pressure sooner than I expected but he was just getting himself organized, really,” Buick said.
“The race kind of went the way I hoped it would and it suited him. He’s become a very uncomplicated horse and he’s a real international superstar.”
Trainer Charlie Appleby celebrated his first Hong Kong win.
“The whole concept of Godolphin was built on being an international stable and hopefully dining at the top table as, fortunately, we are today. Hong Kong racing is one of the pinnacles of racing and to come here, you have to have the right horse,” Appleby said.
“Having the right horse in Rebel’s Romance, we felt he was a horse we could be competitive with and hopefully in the near future, for sure, we’ll be looking forward to finding horses to come over here.”
In the immediate future, Appleby has indicated Rebel’s Romance will return to the United States, where the 2022 Breeders’ Cup victory was followed by two disappointments in 2023.
In July at Saratoga, he clipped heels turning into the stretch in the Bowling Green Stakes (G2T) and lost jockey Richard Mullen. In October, he caught yielding turf for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct Racetrack and finished a one-paced fourth.
He has not lost since while racing on an all-weather track at Kempton in England in December, the H H The Amir Trophy (G3) in Qatar in February, the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) at Meydan in March and now in Hong Kong.
His two German group 1 wins came in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup score.
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