2 hours ago
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Craig Kerry
April 9, 2026 — 5:00pm
Issy Paul admits she gets emotional about the possibility of globetrotting star Dubai Honour having his last run in Australia on Saturday in the $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick.
Paul, an assistant travelling trainer for master English horseman William Haggas, is in Australia for the seventh time and three of those trips have been with Dubai Honour.
Now eight and having also raced abroad in France, Germany, Hong Kong and the UAE, the Pride Of Dubai gelding has had 36 starts for 10 wins and 14 placings. A top-five finish on Saturday would take him past $10 million in earnings.
He has been a marvel in Australia, winning three times and coming second in his other two runs, all at group 1 level.
Haggas said this likely shapes as his last journey to Australia, given his age, but “never say never”.
Paul said he hoped Saturday’s race wasn’t a farewell for Dubai Honour.
“I don’t want to think about him retiring because it makes me very sad, but I’m sure it will have to happen at some point,” Paul said.
“He’s just been an absolute star and I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with him and he’s a real character as well, so we’ll have to see.
“We’ve still got nine-year-olds running at home, so you never know.
“If they’re still enjoying it and they’re still running well, then the boss will keep going with them, which is such a credit to him.”
Dubai Honour showed he was still a force a fortnight ago in the 2400m Tancred Stakes, overcoming a one-week delay to his trip Down Under to put in a bold, breakaway run under Tom Marquand, only for Aeliana to catch him in the shadows of the post.
He won the Queen Elizabeth in 2023 and was second last year to now-retired champion Via Sistina. He was an $8.50 TAB chance for Saturday, when he faces unbeaten Autumn Glow ($1.40). Haggas also has Neville Sellwood Stakes runner-up Caviar Heights ($151) in the race.
“I think that’s one of the things I’ve loved being out here, especially last year, where you had Via Sistina and Vauban running, and then obviously in the Tancred the other week, we had [eight-year-old] Vauban as well, and the longevity you can get out of these horses if you look after them and keep them happy, is phenomenal,” Paul said.
“He’s pulled up really well. I’m really happy with him. Both horses, their weight is back up to what it was before they ran, which is ideal.
“They did their last little bit of work [Tuesday] morning, and I was very happy with both of them, so we’re excited for Saturday.
“I think it’s going to be tough. [Autumn Glow] looks very, very nice, but she is also untested at the trip, so you never know.
“And you just have to run against what’s there. We were unlucky to run into Via Sistina last year, but he ran a great race, and then obviously three years ago, we had Anamoe to contend with and he managed to beat him.”
Paul did not expect Dubai Honour to lead again on Saturday, given the presence of noted front-runner Lindermann, but said the stablemates would push forward. She hoped Caviar Heights would jump better and Dubai Honour would respond to racing in blinkers for the first time.
“Both boys are proper stayers, and we want them to be up there, if possible, because we can’t sit and sprint with them, it’s just not going to happen,” she said.
“We’d like to be handy, but we’ll see how they jump out and kick on from there.
“We keep them pretty easy in between runs, so the little piece they did [Tuesday] morning was the only bit they’ve done in between races.
“Dubai Honour’s going to have blinkers on, which will just hopefully keep him that little bit sharper throughout the race. We did it with Addeybb for his second Queen Elizabeth and it obviously worked pretty well, so we’re hoping we might be able to pull off some sort of miracle again.
“I put them on him last week and we had a potter around Canterbury last week and he was very good. It might not work, but hopefully it does.”
Another factor for the UK raiders is a likely dry Randwick track on Saturday.
“I always find the tracks out here, it seems to matter less,” Paul said.
“Addeybb won his second Queen Elizabeth on a Good 4 and he was a proper mudlark. I think it’s a tricky one because Dubai Honour is another horse we thought wanted pretty soft ground, and he’s run a handful of very nice races at Sha Tin, and you don’t get much quicker than Sha Tin.”
