Heart of Honor continues up the ranks in Dubai

The Entisar Stakes is often an early pointer towards the Dubai World Cup and it could have been so again, with last year’s fourth Walk Of Stars taking his place in the line-up.

He and Tadhg O’Shea set steady fractions up front which may not have suited closer Heart Of Honor, but he got the job done, despite being pushed along by jockey Saffie Osborne for much of the race. Turning in, the 3-year-old made relentless headway and mowed down Walk Of Stars and runner-up Artorius with something in hand – by a length and a half and two lengths.

“I thought I was going to finish last down the back straight,” said Osborne, who rides the horse for her trainer father Jamie. “As soon as I started asking him questions around the bend I realised how lazy he’d been down the back.

“Today he showed what a quality horse he is, which I didn’t really know before as he doesn’t give you much of a feel when you’re pushing him along. He was relentless.

“I think when he’s a little bit more mature and a little bit more streetwise, we could have a seriously exciting horse on our hands.”

"Never in doubt was it?!” quipped Jamie Osborne, who trains Heart Of Honor for Jim and Claire Bryce. “Today he showed how brave he is, how much he wants it and how much he stays. The dream is still alive!”

That dream is now likely to take them to the Al Maktoum Challenge (G1) on Jan. 23.