Australian adventure could come under consideration for Desert Hero

Nick Robson
December 6, 2023 4:00 pm

The King and Queen’s colt was last seen finishing third in the St Leger.

William Haggas has raised the possibility of the King and Queen’s Desert Hero running in Australia in the new year.

A winner at Royal Ascot in June, he then chased Classic glory in the St Leger at Doncaster but with the King and Queen in attendance he could only finish an honourable third.

He was briefly under consideration for the Melbourne Cup which created a real buzz in Australia, but plans were shelved to give him time to recover from his Classic bid.

Now Haggas, who has enjoyed great success in Australia with the likes of Addeybb and Dubai Honour, has suggested the Tancred Stakes, a Group One over a mile and a half at Rosehill in Sydney, could be a viable option.

“We won’t decide until January. They won’t go into quarantine until February 20 and the first race is March 23, I think they would arrive in Australia on March 9,” Haggas told Sky Sports Racing.

The King and Queen watch on as Desert Hero finishes third in the St Leger (Danny Lawson/PA)

“Dubai Honour is going to go and a staying horse called Post Impressionist will go who has been sold to Australian connections.

“We are umming and ahhing about Desert Hero maybe going for the Tancred Stakes, I’m not sure. He’s not thriving at the moment so I’m not sure. He’s just not enjoying the cold but there’s plenty of time, he’s come back in from his holiday so we’ll see.

“We won’t make any decision on him for ages. It’s a long way off.”