Joseph O’Brien upbeat about Al Riffa and Galen

By Tom Peacock

Joseph O’Brien has never been a man to duck an international challenge as he prepares to take on three-time champion Romantic Warrior in the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (14 December).

With two Melbourne Cups and a Breeders’ Cup success already unlocked during a training career which only began in 2016, O’Brien pitches the unheralded Galen into white-hot competition.

The eye-catching chestnut has risen smoothly through the ranks and arrives after a second-place finish in the G2 Bahrain International Trophy (2000m).

“Obviously Romantic Warrior is one of the best horses of his generation, if not the best, and it’s a privilege to be racing against him, but we focus on our own horse’s preparation and we ride to maximise his potential,” O’Brien said. “We won’t worry about our competition too much.”

Drawn widest of the field in seven, Galen is considered the likely leader.

“He doesn’t have to set the pace, but he’s a pretty enthusiastic runner; he led most of the way in Bahrain,” O’Brien continued. “There might be a little bit of pace pressure from some of the horses but he’s in the outside gates and he can go either way.

“It was a great run in Bahrain, a career best. He likes to go right-handed and he’s due a big race – whether it’ll be this weekend or not – and we’ll be happy to get a share of the prizemoney anyway. He’s a great fun horse and hopefully there’s plenty of racing left in him.”

Galen is joined by seasoned campaigner Al Riffa on the trip. A three-time Group 1 winner at distances ranging between 1400m and 2800m, the experienced five-year-old heads for the HK$26 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) after running seventh in November’s G1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).

“This was an obvious place to potentially come after the Melbourne Cup,” O’Brien said. “He didn’t have a hard race and came home really good from it, so we were happy to lock it in.

“He’s a seasoned traveller, in actual fact he enjoys it. He’s shipped out here well and we’re hoping for a good run.”

O’Brien, son of legendary trainer Aidan and continually on the rise after a stellar career as a jockey, has a modern outlook embracing the global calendar. His only previous runner in Hong Kong was when Latrobe was 11th in the 2018 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.

“We do all the work every year, week-in, week-out, to have horses that can compete at the top meetings locally and internationally,” he said.

“At the end of the day our job as the trainer is to maximise the earnings of the horses and put them in the best spots that we can find them, wherever that might be in the world.”

The rider of the two horses, Dylan Browne McMonagle, is truly on the crest of a wave after demonstrating artistry in the saddle aboard Ethical Diamond in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf (2400m).

Just 22, he is now a domestic champion jockey and will be riding on the Hong Kong circuit for the first three months of next year. This will be his first taste of the action at Sha Tin.

“It’s all going to be new but you want to be riding against the best,” he said.

It is unlikely that Romantic Warrior will faze him either, McMonagle adding: “He is going to be obviously the one to beat but he’s probably going to be behind us in the race. I can’t worry about him too much, you’ve got to focus on your own horse and ride the race to best suit them.”

Sunday’s (14 December) 10-race fixture at Sha Tin starts at 12.25pm with the Class 4 Fairy King Prawn Handicap (1400m).