Dual Melbourne Cup (G1)-winning trainer Joseph O'Brien believes Al Riffa can provide him with a first winner at Hong Kong's prestigious International meeting when the entire stallion takes his chance in the Dec. 14 Hong Kong Vase (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Al Riffa, who is a 5-year-old by Coolmore's late sire sensation Wootton Bassett, has already given a glimpse of what he can do on the international stage with a second to Godolphin's globetrotter Rebel's Romance at Royal Ascot in June and a last-start seventh in November's Melbourne Cup.
Drawn wide in barrier 19 in the 24-runner field at Flemington, and shouldering top weight of 59 kilograms (130 pounds), Al Riffa found himself at the rear of the field under Mark Zahra and made up ground in the latter stages of the Cup to grab seventh—9 1/4 lengths behind the winner Half Yours.
"We were satisfied with his run in Melbourne, and now we are looking forward to Hong Kong," O'Brien said. "After that, we could also look at the Dubai World Cup next year."
O'Brien believes the Australian Bloodstock-owned Irish St Leger (G1) winner is now ready for a serious international campaign as he lines up in Hong Kong for the first time.
"He's a big, powerful horse," O'Brien said. "His form has been really consistent over the past few seasons at a very high level, and when being shipped around the world, he has taken the travel in his stride.
"He's had a busy season so far, and we're looking forward to him running in Hong Kong. I think he's probably the ideal type for the Vase. His second behind Rebel's Romance (in the Hardwicke Stakes) was over the same distance on fast ground, conditions not too dissimilar to what he will get at Sha Tin."
Al Riffa first came to prominence in his native Ireland when winning the National Stakes (G1) at the Curragh as a 2-year-old. He popped up on the radar again when second to the subsequent Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) winner Ace Impact in the Prix Guillaume D'Ornano (G2) at Deauville as a 3-year-old at only his fifth start.
O'Brien said there was good reason the young horse was sparingly raced at that stage.
"He was getting ready for the Irish Two Thousand Guineas but returned a dirty scope and had to bypass the race," he said. "He had picked up a little bug, and it meant he missed the first part of his 3-year-old campaign.
"Then he was being aimed at the Irish Champion Stakes and suffered another setback. After that, there wasn't really anything suitable left for him at that point of the season. We didn't want to travel him. He just got a bit unlucky and missed a couple of key stages of that year."
Al Riffa's 4-year-old days were more straightforward. Gathering experience and gaining in physical strength, it became a significant season as he landed another top-level contest.
"He won his group 1 in Germany (in the Grosser Preis von Berlin) and he was second to City Of Troy in the group 1 Eclipse Stakes," O'Brien said.
"He had some really high-class pieces of form in there. And this year, at 5, we've gradually eased him in, stepping him up in trip, and he's gone to a new level again. He's also proven versatile when it comes to track conditions (going).
"At Royal Ascot, he had a rating of 117 on the day on fast ground, and when he won the Irish St Leger, it was on the soft side, and he got 120. The ground is not a problem for him."
Dylan Browne McMonagle, who has ridden Al Riffa for all five of his wins, will be back in the saddle in the Hong Kong Vase, where the pair will take on fellow international raiders Giavellotto, winner of the race last year, and the 2024 Irish Derby (G1) winner Los Angeles, trained by O'Brien's father, Aidan.
