Saffie Osborne is excited about the possibility of replicating a bit of family history for her father Jamie in Saturday’s G2 UAE Derby (Sponsored By Jumeirah).
Osborne senior sent out Toast Of New York to lift this event back in 2014 on the back of a different sort of preparation, having tried that individual on synthetic surfaces in the United Kingdom before arriving in Meydan.
Heart Of Honor has been out in the UAE all season, winning twice and taking second in both the UAE 2000 Guineas and the Al Bastakiya.
Saffie Osborne has ridden at the Dubai World Cup meeting twice before but this is her biggest opportunity yet. In February 2024 she became the first female jockey to ride a winner at Meydan.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” she said. “He’s obviously got a super chance and it’s been a big build-up.”
She continued: “It’s huge. Eleven years ago Toast Of New York won the UAE Derby. I was sat on the sofa at home, I was only 12, so it’s quite cool to think that 11 years on we’d be back here.”
Heart Of Honor is sticking to a routine week of cantering on the Meydan dirt, and his jockey added: “I came out last week to gallop him, it was a fairly impressive piece of work, and I’m just trying to keep everything level. He’s in great shape.”