As sure as day follows night, on the last Thursday of January for the past three years Mike de Kock has won the Al Rashidiya at Meydan Racecourse.
It is not often that Godolphin are continually outshadowed on their own turf, but the South African trainer seems to have not only the right horses but a complete understanding of what it takes to win the Group 2 contest.
De Kock has won the race seven times, and it appears that he holds three of the four aces in the Al Rashidiya pack.
He fields three runners out of seven in total in the Group 2 event, worth US$200,000 (Dh735,000) thanks to sponsors Emirates Global Aluminium.
Mujaarib, last year’s winner, returns to the fray under Paul Hanagan, while Sanshaawes will provide able support for the Blue Stables team under Dane O’Neill. However, it is Vercingetorix, which will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon, who carries the main hopes of Blue Stables.
Vercingetorix was beaten only by Just A Way in Dubai last season in three starts before he suffered interference in finishing third to Hong Kong pair Designs On Rome and Military Attack at Sha Tin in April.
De Kock has given Vercingetorix the luxury of time and is not concerned at the 276-day lay-off, as the five-year-old bay won off a similar hiatus due to the lengthy quarantine procedures involved with travelling from South Africa to Dubai.
Winning a handicap first up is not the same as a Group 2, but De Kock is confident.
“Last year Vercingetorix wasn’t setting the track alight before his Dubai debut, but he won a good race after a long rest,” De Kock said.
“The difference this year is that Vercingetorix is moving a lot better. His soundness and his well-being is very good, and he looks really well. We’re hoping that this generally markedly improved pre-race picture will manifest in another good run.
“He will be the stable elect.”
However, Saeed bin Suroor may well have an ace up his sleeve. In True Story, he has an improving horse who could well have a say on World Cup night in March.
Both Vercingetorix and True Story were entered for the $6 million Dubai Turf on Tuesday, and tonight’s duel may well be just a skirmish on the path to the greater battle of World Cup night on March 28.
True Story, who will be ridden by James Doyle, showed in winning the Listed Singspiel Stakes on the opening night of the Carnival three weeks ago that he had the perfect blend of speed and stamina for tonight’s assignment over 1,800 metres.
In the final 600m, True Story raced away with the Singspiel Stakes in just over 34 seconds.
Having been gelded before his Dubai campaign, there is every chance he has the improvement in him to push Vercingetorix hard.
The Cape Verdi shares top billing with the Al Rashidiya in that it is a Group 2 race, but the comparisons stop there.
There are a few promising fillies in the line-up such as Cladocera, trained by Frenchman Alain de Royer-Dupre, who won the 1,600m turf race with Sanaya in 2007 when it was a Listed contest.
Oh Star is now trained by Salim Al Ketbi at Al Asayl, having previously been with John Gosden in England. Zurigha has won in the grade previously and is owned by Saeed Al Tayer, chairman and chief executive of Meydan Group.
However, looking at the official ratings of the runners, it is clear it is the lowest-class Cape Verdi since Clinet beat Brindisi in the same race in 2006.
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