As a dual Champion Jockey, Godolphin’s retained rider and the winner of over 100 Group 1 races worldwide, William Buick has sat on a lot of great racehorses.
He has yet to partner one just like Rebel’s Romance, however, who in an ambitious and storied career has so far contributed seven wins to his big-race tally and a raft of memories.
William Buick and Rebels’ Romance dominated the 2024 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (Pic – DRC/Liesl King)
The 2021 UAE Derby winner will bid to break new ground on Saturday by becoming the first horse to win both two and back-to-back runnings of the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Buick said: “I’ve never been involved with a horse quite like Rebel’s Romance, with his personality, character and his ability.
“He’s taken me and so many people all around the world. After he won in Qatar last time, which was a challenging weekend for everybody, I said he was the horse of a lifetime and he really is.”
Buick’s association with Rebel’s Romance is akin more to a jumps horse than a champion on the flat and he can chart his development from the very formative stages of the horse’s career.
“I remember sitting on him for a Kempton novice event over a mile in the freezing cold in November,” he said. “He won really well and it was a good event.
“A lot of good Newmarket trainers had runners in the race and he won very well. The following spring he won the UAE Derby so we knew he was a good horse from the word go.”
Those first signs were certainly promising. It transpired Rebel’s Romance defeated a pair of Champion Stakes winners in Anmaat and Bay Bridge on that bracing day in 2020.
Now a bona fide champion himself, it is ironic that his recent successes have come in far warmer climes, achieving the ultimate goal set out by Sheikh Mohammed’s when he founded Godolphin in 1992.
“He’s a throwback to the early days of Fantastic Light and Daylami and all of those horses who travelled the world for Godolphin,” Buick said.
“When Sheikh Mohammed set the operation he wanted it to be a global brand and to compete in all of the top races across the world – and that’s what Rebel’s Romance is doing. He’s certainly Godolphin’s best horse at the moment.
“He’s taken it to another level really and it’s amazing that at the age of seven he still retains all of his enthusiasm and ability.”
Trainer Charlie Appleby (left) and William Buick at the presentation for the 2024 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (Pic – DRC/Liesl King)
Rebel’s Romance has also been an important horse for Charlie Appleby, with last May’s victory in the Champions & Chater Cup giving him a first success in Hong Kong.
With another territory conquered, Rebel’s Romance picked up where he left off. A third major success in Germany followed before he became just the third dual winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Those experiences have helped mould what was once a young miscreant into a monster, with Buick full of confidence ahead of Saturday’s assignment against the best from Europe and Japan. A glorious homecoming awaits.
“He’s gone through a lot of different stages in a career,” the jockey said. “He’s gone from being immature to a little bit hot and needing managing, but now he’s the most amenable, easy horse to deal with.
“He just goes about his business, loves his work and loves his racing. He’s a real big, friendly giant. He’s a very straightforward horse. All you have to do is look at his CV.
“You can’t travel to all of those countries that he’s been to without being straightforward and versatile. It takes a lot of doing to go to all of those countries and perform at the level he’s performed at. It’s a real credit to Charlie and all of his team.”
There is no disguising Buick is a top sportsman. There is little room for frivolity or sentimentality when we talk just before he takes the leg up on his Dubai World Cup mount Rattle N Roll at trackwork.
He is one of five stellar rides on the most important evening of his year on Saturday, yet it is when he is asked about Rebel’s Romance that the professional face comes closest to slipping.
He said: “I’m in the fortunate position that I get to ride these amazing horses and that’s what it’s all about – you’re always looking for the next good horse.
“Space Blues is a horse who I felt like I had a deep bond with. He raced until he was five and the longer they’re around, the more you have that with them.
“I think those horses in particular, and Rebel’s Romance especially, they’re just a bit different.”
