No Hong Kong for Facteur Cheval

A prospective trip to Hong Kong for Dubai Turf winner Facteur Cheval has been called off, and the horse will instead return to trainer Jerome Reynier’s yard in France to prepare for a European campaign this summer.

Facteur Cheval, a 5-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Ribchester, made his first start outside Europe on Saturday but has American owners, Team Valor and Gary Barber. After quietly and steadily improving throughout 2023, Facteur Cheval turned in a peak performance winning a strong renewal of the $5 million Dubai Turf, where he held off fast-finishing Japanese horse Namur by a nose. The race earned a solid 122 Timeform Rating.

Reynier said after the race it was possible Facteur Cheval could go from Dubai on to Hong Kong to contest the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on April 28, but a race at Royal Ascot – the Queen Anne over a flat mile or the Prince of Wales’s at about 1 5/16 miles – now could be Facteur Cheval’s target, according to a Team Valor representative.