De Kock ‘very happy’
Fresh from another historic win in the Hong Kong’s Champions Mile with dual horse of the year Variety Club, I caught up with De Kock at Mary Slack’s Abington Place – Thoroughmedia’s Simon Burgess reports from Newmarket.
Next Tuesday at Royal Ascot, South Africa’s iconic training pioneer Mike De Kock will attempt to scale another mountain as he looks to be the first South African to train a winner at the Royal meeting.
De Kock arrived in the UK on Monday night and couldn’t have been happier with the condition of his two Gr1 Royal Ascot chances. “I’m very happy with them. Steven Jell and the team here have done an unbelievable job with them since they’ve arrived from Dubai and everything’s looking really good.”
Shea Shea – Kings Stand Stakes
Shea Shea goes to the Gr1 Kings Stand over the undulating five furlongs of Royal Ascot looking for redemption after being narrowly beaten a neck in last years renewal by his regular sparring partner, Sole Power. Coincidently, it was the only time the Irish sprinter has beaten Shea Shea in the six times they have met, but this year could well see the tables turned. “He’s travelled over very well this year and while we used to have some problems getting the horse to settle, we’ve had some very good work riders on him over here, and it seems to have done the trick. We’ve tried a slightly different approach with him this year with a major focus being on this race and I’m hopeful he can go on with it and give us a few good runs later in the season as well.”
With the uncharacteristic English summer continuing here, the likelihood of good ground further enhances his chances and all bodes well for a history making win. Regular jockey Christophe Soumillon renews his acquaintance with the Klawervlei-bred son of National Emblem.
Bookmakers appear to be feeling generous in the UK, installing him as a 6/1 ante-post equal second favourite with Sole Power. Somewhat surprisingly, the Qatar Racing, Kevin Ryan-trained 3yo Hot Streak is the early favourite and is as short as 4/1 in some quarters. Hot Streak has won at Gr2 and Gr3 level, but has yet to compete at Gr1 level. With only eight starts for four wins and two placings to his credit, the burning question is whether he is seasoned enough to hold his own against older, more experienced rivals?
Soft Falling Rain – Queen Anne Stakes
It’s easy to forget how good Soft Falling Rain was, winning his first seven starts on the bounce including the gutsy Gr2 win in the 2013 Godolphin Mile, following up with a close up second to Variety Club in this year’s renewal of the race.
Despite the strong form line behind Variety Club, De Kock has some concerns, “Soft Falling Rain’s form behind Variety Club is massive. The concern is that he didn’t really travel well and missed around ten crucial days of his preparation when he arrived. He’s very well in himself, but no one likes to go into any big race after missing so much work. We wanted to look after him as much as we could this season in Dubai and leave a bit in the tank with a view to keeping him reasonably fresh for the season here in the UK. We really were hoping to go for the Lockinge Stakes and get some firm ground, but unfortunately things didn’t all go to plan in Dubai. He didn’t travel that well and got sick, which was a blow because that was really the race we wanted to go for. You try and do the right thing, but it’s a tough game and sometimes things don’t always go to plan, so I decided on an alternative route. Despite the interrupted preparation, we’ve decided to go for the Queen Anne and hopefully we get some suitable ground for him. He’s happy and very well in himself.”
It shapes as an intriguing race with a very strong field headed by the classy Toronado and impressive Olympic Glory (2014 Lockinge winner). Then, just for a bit of spice, throw in the Aiden O’Brien-trained Magician and smart filly Sky Lantern and it all adds up to a contest that should prove a highlight of the first day of the Royal meeting. One can only wonder what price Variety Club might have been in this field though?
Variety Club
Variety Club – a very special horse
Variety Club has captured the attention of the racing world with his stunning performances in both Dubai and Hong Kong, putting South African racing in the forefront. It’s something that’s not been lost on De Kock who has now had a chance to reflect on the achievements. “It’s had a chance to sink in a bit now, but at the time it’s almost numbing. You think to yourself, have I just seen that? It takes time to dissect the whole thing and the more I see it, the more I think ‘how can a horse do those fractions and still go on with it?’ He’s a special horse, there is no doubt about that! The form line has since been further franked, with Dan Excel who he beat in Hong Kong, coming out and winning the Gr1 Singapore International and breaking the track record in the process. I really don’t know what else Variety Club has to do, but it’s been suggested that he needs to win in England to be recognized here? I’d like to see these milers here in England do what he did in Hong Kong!”
Looking at Shea Shea in the yard today, one can only think that another international conquest is not too far away from being ticked off the “to do” list for the pioneering De Kock, and make no mistake if that does happen next Tuesday afternoon, apart from the owners and connections, there will be a very proud and patriotic South African wearing his heart on his sleeve as the national anthem plays.
The sub plot to all of this and possibly even more important, will be the fact that such a historic win would again thrust the quality of South African racing and breeding back into the spotlight, and the faces of the racing world at large, and continuing to mount pressure on the powers that be to come up with a global solution to South Africa’s export situation.
You can listen to the full audio recording of the interview here
