De Kocks, Vermaak, Hollywood and Wernars launch Global Stable

When dynamic young trainer Mathew de Kock moved back to South Africa from Australia, it clearly rejuvenated his old man – legendary Mike the Master – and it seemed only a matter of time before a De Kock raiding party would set sail again to plunder the world’s racing riches. Last week came word of the De Kocks reopening their Dubai operation for the 2027 Dubai Racing Carnival and the yard’s participation in a Global Stable initiative alongside some of the big-money titans of local racing. Fans are looking forward to a rerun of the early 2000s when Mike de Kock spearheaded a victorious gallop of South Africans across world racecourses. Crippling equine export protocols ended those glory years. However, a recent easing of the draconian rules has re-opened doors to South African horses. This, together with remarkable recent successes of local exports to the US – proving De Kock’s long-stated conviction that SA bloodstock is the equal of the world’s best – have given the green light to international campaign planning. De Kock Racing’s website proclaimed: “The long-term vision is to return South African thoroughbreds to the global marketplace while also sourcing quality horses from other racing jurisdictions to compete in the Middle East, with an eventual eye on the US. The US is of particular interest for South African-bred turf performers, who have demonstrated that they can compete at the highest level while racing for its massive prize money.” It added that the plan was to supplement the stable with quality imports to get the operation off to a competitive start in year one. Multi-talented racing man Justin Vermaak is part of the team, as are leading owners Hollywood Racing and the Wernars family – and probably other owners who fit in with the ambitious ventures. To kick things off, Vermaak Equine recently bought three-year-old Argentinian star Colorado Del Monte, a dual Group 1-winner who will head up next year’s Dubai challenge. Vermaak commented: “We aim to create a sustainable international racing programme centred initially on Dubai, while providing pathways into the wider Middle East and selected international jurisdictions, including the US. “Hollywood Racing are developing a fantastic string of horses in South Africa. They have purchased high-quality yearlings in the last two years which included imported groups from Australasia and Argentina. It is a matter of time before they have a conveyor belt of options to send to Dubai.” The conveyor belt might also include Mary Slack’s Abington Place yard at Newmarket in the UK, according to Mike de Kock, who cites the removal of European travel regulations taking up to two months off quarantine periods for South African horses. He explained: “It has been problematic to get the top South African horses to join us in the current market, but owners need to remember that the Global Stable will be a facilitator like we were for owners with the best horses in the past, including Variety Club, Lizzard’s Desire and Sun Classique. We are presently looking at a number of SA-breds to join the stable.” Of Colorado Del Monte, De Kock said: “We have been looking for a decent dirt horse for a while. We had amazing runners from South America who won many top races including Asiatic Boy, Honour Devil and Lundy’s Liability. Our new buy is a versatile horse and makes this re-launch of our Dubai operation even more exciting.”