Successful in the Listed Wolferton S. last June, the homebred was third in the G2 York S. a month later and was runner-up in the GI Canadian International S. most recently in October.

“He was very impressive … if he brings that sort of form out here–he's very lightly raced as well for an older horse, he's been well looked after and well managed–he should hopefully have a nice career ahead of him,” co-trainer Sam Freedman, who holds a license with his father Anthony, told Racing.com.

“I think he's identified him as the right profile of horse to send out–his form in England and his run in Canada last time out was excellent.

“He's pretty versatile–he seems to handle most types of going and he's got a bit of speed, so he should hopefully suit out here.”

Sheikh Obaid, who has won the G1 Melbourne Cup, already has Dubai Poet (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Legend Of Dubai (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) with the Freedmans in Australia.

“[Royal Champion] is still up there, so he'll fly out soonish, I'd say. The plan is to obviously have him out here and working along through the winter,” Freedman added.

“There's going to be some really suitable 2000-metre races for him over the course of the spring, so we'll see where he fits in–but he's going to arrive with a pretty high rating, so hopefully he can feature in some big ones.”

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Bred by Trevor Stewart and trained by Aidan O'Brien for Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, the colt is currently traveling to Australia where he will spend his two-week quarantine in Melbourne. O'Brien will continue training the son of G3 Abernant S. and G3 Charge Sprint S. victress Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) through his intended starts in the 2040-metre Cox Plate and the 2000-metre G1 Champion S. in the coming weeks. He will then change yards to Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

“We are extremely excited to have secured this very talented Northern Hemisphere 3-year-old with Japanese bloodlines,” Kheir told the publication.

“Having already won a Grade I at the age of two and being lightly raced, it gave us confidence as a group to proceed with a deal to acquire Victoria Road from Coolmore.

“The Coolmore family have always been a pleasure to deal with, our last significant acquisition being Sir Dragonet (Ire) in 2020. We have now traded together on some high-profile horses and there is a mutual respect for each other where we strike a fair price and terms to suit both. Recently Yes Yes Yes (Aus) and Coolangatta (Aus) have been sold to Coolmore.”

The 115,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate also won the G3 Prix de Conde and the Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage at two. At three, he was third in the G2 Dullingham Park S. in two starts. From 10 starts, Victoria Road has won four times with earnings north of $680,000. His second dam is the hugely influential blue hen Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}).

Added Kheir, “Mathew Becker was instrumental in landing the deal on Victoria Road as I, personally, didn't think we could buy him.

“So, when the opportunity come about on the terms and price, I believed it was really good buying for this loyal and fantastic group of owners we race with.

“We have a runner ready to go in the business end of the spring, provided he travels well, but more importantly, a colt for the future to race in Australia and continue to add to his value with most of, or potentially all, his downside covered by his previous Grade I win as a stallion prospect.

“He will be trained by Ciaron and Dave after his couple of runs in Australia with Aidan O'Brien. It gave us great confidence that Aidan was wanting to continue to travel Victoria Road for our group to compete in the Cox Plate. Victoria Road is currently in the air on route to Werribee [International Horse Centre].

“Our short-term plan post-spring is to target the All-Star Mile and Australia Cup before attacking the Sydney Autumn.”

The post Ozzie Kheir Buys Breeders’ Cup Winner And Cox Plate Contender Victoria Road appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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