It is testament to the Mike de Kock way of doing things that potential South African superstar Noah From Goa takes his chance in Thursday’s Grade 2 Al Fahidi Fort at Meydan Racecourse.
Noah From Goa has not raced for 12 months, and the son of Tiger Ridge has had to endure a torrid time simply to get to Dubai to line up against seven others in the US$250,000 (Dh918,050) contest staged over 1,400 metres.
Like many of his former stablemates, Noah From Goa has had to undergo months of quarantine in South Africa, Mauritius and England but, finally, there could well be another way out of his homeland soon.
Derek Brugman is the racing manager for the Jooste family, who campaigned the brilliant Variety Club under De Kock’s name to win the 2014 Godolphin Mile at Meydan.
Brugman believes he has hit upon a way to circumnavigate the dreaded route from South Africa to the UAE through Mauritius that De Kock and Herman Brown were forced to open up following the African Horse Sickness outbreak in South Africa in 2011.
Brugman plans to take up to 18 horses from the 21-day quarantine in South Africa that he hopes they start late next month direct to Newburgh in New York, where horses will be placed under lockdown for 60 days.
At the stables he intends to install a treadmill to keep the equine athletes mobile, but whether that will be satisfactory is open to question. It is estimated that if a horse remains inactive for as little as 10 days they begin to lose bone density and muscle mass.
If all goes well, the horses will be ready to be trained by an American handler from the end of May, which is before De Kock’s horses will have even entered quarantine for next season’s Carnival.
"We haven’t got enough horses for the project yet," Brugman told The National from South Africa. "We’re on seven at the moment."
"The climate changes from South Africa to Mauritius and then to Britain in the winter and back to Dubai in one year must have an effect on the horses, in my view. The route to America has less of a climactic effect on them, and the conditions are more favourable.
"I won’t go to Mauritius and I’m willing to take a chance. It is soul destroying and the aggravation is unnecessary but we just want to race our horses abroad."
The plan is not flawless. Due to American regulations entire horses over two years of age need to prove their virility on arrival, which is hardly an ideal situation for a young, hot-blooded racehorse. Fillies and mares have to undergo an extra two weeks of quarantine in America, too, which means the route favours geldings. Overall, the charter flight breaks the US$500,000 barrier, too.
"I am trying to make this a South African initiative that will encourage a broad-based group to race South Africa horses abroad," Brugman said. "It supports our industry here in South Africa and will help stimulate trade."
So far De Kock has not signed up to the plan but the most successful international trainer in Dubai regularly targets races in the US. The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, won by Variety Club in 2013, and the Main Chance Farms Paddock Stakes at Kenilworth are both Breeders’ Cup Win And You’re In races, too.
Noah From Goa last raced when third to South African Hrse of the Year Legal Eagle, who is the flagship name in Brugman’s group of seven horses, in last season’s Queen’s Plate.

Source: The National