Mike de Kock is unlikely to have any further runners on the dirt at Meydan Racecourse this season after he had a terrible start to the DubaiWorld Cup Carnival on Thursday.
De Kock had seven runners on the newly laid surface and the best finish was ninth from 12 runners. Two of his horses finished last.
“We will revise our initial Carnival strategies without delay,” De Kock said. “Unless there are absolutely no other options, we won’t have another entry on dirt this season.”
In an extensive piece on his website, the leading international trainer at the Carnival put forward the notion that there was a track bias towards prominent runners at Meydan.
Since the dirt replaced the Tapeta last year, there have been 32 races on the dirt with only four horses coming from right off the pace to win.
One of those winners struck on Thursday night when Faulkner kept up Doug Watson’s good record at Meydan with victory in the 1,400-metre handicap.
Tamarkuz, who was second, missed the break and made good headway through the middle part of the race to finish second.
Both Pat Dobbs, who rode Faulkner, and Dane O’Neill, who was aboard Tamarkuz, returned covered in dirt. Paul Hanagan, who partnered long-time front-runner Shaishee, was conspicuous by his clean silks when finishing third.
“To win on this track you need runners with good gate speed that can jump and lead or sit up second or third, otherwise you may as well stay at home,” De Kock said.
“Our contenders just couldn’t match their better-suited rivals for early speed. The kickback from just behind the front rank is bad. The slower horses get it in the face and, sometimes, it’s so severe that they battle to breathe.”
The South African handler will continue to train his horses on the surface.
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