Mike de Kock said he believes he is better prepared than in recent times to embark on a full-scale assault on the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
The most successful international trainer in Dubai brought his horses to the UAE a month earlier than last year, many of which had to undergo the punishing quarantine journey via Mauritius.
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Star names such as top South African sprinter Via Africa, and Yorker, who is being lined up for a run in the Dubai Duty Free on World Cup night, may have lacked the fitness on arrival of previous pathfinders, but they are overall in a healthier state than those who have come to Dubai via the required circuitous route during the past few seasons.
“It was not necessarily by design as they missed races in South Africa, but I prefer it as they have had more time to get used to the dirt surface at Meydan and I don’t have to put the squeeze on them as early,” De Kock said.
“I think we are better prepared in terms of their condition. They might be a little bit behind in terms of fitness, but it is a lot easier to work with them like that.”
In three of the past four years, the South African trainer has chased home Saeed bin Suroor in the Dubai World Cup Carnival trainers’ standings.
De Kock has a team of 44 assembled at Blue Stables, where returning heroes such as Vercingetorix, who struck twice at Meydan before coming second to Just A Way in the Dubai Duty Free last season, and Sanshaawes, who runs tonight in the Listed Singspiel Stakes, are also housed.
De Kock’s new South African recruits are joined by a team of horses that were bought as a package from Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle operation in Ireland.
Darwin, who raced on the dirt once for Todd Pletcher before winning a Listed event in July for Ballydoyle, Fountain Of Youth, who won a Group 3 at the Curragh in June and several others have been bought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa.
It has proved to be a rich seam to mine for De Kock over the past few years with the likes of Eagle Mountain and Master Of Hounds striking at the highest level after having left O’Brien’s yard.
Flops such as Mars last season show that the wily Irish trainer does not discard horses lightly, but De Kock is happy with the stock he has prised away for this season. “I quite like the batch we have,” he said.
“They are a nice bunch of horses and are in good nick as they have had a nice rest. Darwin is an American-bred horse so we have to give him a go on the dirt. I like what I see.”
De Kock will again call on the services of Christophe Soumillon for all of Sheikh Mohammed’s horses, while Paul Hanagan and Dane O’Neill will partner all of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s horses.
Anton Marcus will step up his involvement in Dubai, where last season he won a second Dubai Duty Free on Variety Club, by riding most of De Kock’s South African import horses.
With Pat Cosgrave still on the Emirates Racing Authority forfeit list, it leaves the door ajar for Wayne Smith, who rides for the trainer tonight at Meydan.
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