Japanese Horse Of The Year Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) looks likely to make a trip to Dubai this year with connections aiming for the G1 Dubai Turf on World Cup night Mar. 26. The 5-year-old was last seen when winning the G1 Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin in December under Ryan Moore, having previously won two Group 1's in his home country. Speaking to The Racing Post at the JRA awards ceremony, his trainer Noriyuki Hori said, “He is at the Northern Farm in Shigaraki and recovering nicely from his Hong Kong Mile win. I can't say for sure when he will return to my yard and which race is his first one, though it will become clearer next month. The Dubai Turf is definitely in our plans though.” Maurice could be accompanied to Dubai by stablemate Duramente (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}). The colt won the G1 Japanese Derby last year among two Group 1 wins and outlining plans for him Hori said, “His first race of the year will be the Grade 2 Nakayama Kinen [Feb. 28]. I am sure he is a horse capable of challenging the best in the world. The Dubai Sheema Classic and the Arc are both possibilities at this stage.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
