Joey Ramsden is hoping that some of the gold dust from
South Africa that fellow trainer Mike de Kock has scattered over the Dubai World
Cup meeting in recent years falls on his first runner at the glittering occasion
on Saturday — a horse who has been ‘lodging’ at de Kock’s Blue Stables barn near
Meydan racecourse.
Variety Club, whom Ramsden has trained to claim Horse of the Year honors
in South Africa for the last two years, joined de Kock’s stable and has been
handled by his staff for this year’s Dubai World Cup Carnival, culminating in
his challenge for Saturday’s Group 2 Godolphin Mile.
However, Ramsden, who has made regular visits to Dubai, remains his nominated
trainer and can now add a success in the United Arab Emirates to his CV, after Variety Club
extended his winning run to eight in the Firebreak Stakes in the middle of February.
The six-year-old son of leading stallion Var was subsequently beaten 1 3/4
lengths into second place behind Shuruq in the Burj
Nahaar, but Ramsden, while disappointed, was not
downhearted.
“Things didn’t go his way that night,” he said. “He’s not easy to load in the
stalls and we asked for him to be a late loader, but it didn’t happen and he got
a little worked up. Maybe was entitled to a flat run after eight months away
from home.”
As well as having to overcome a degree of uncertainty at the starting point,
Variety Club faces the possible disadvantage of racing from stall 15, one from
the outside.
Ramsden is philosophical.
“There’s nothing we can do about the draw. Those are the cards we’ve been
dealt, and I’ll leave it in the hands of his regular jockey Anton Marcus. I
wouldn’t dream of interfering on that score,” the trainer said.
“He can ping out of the stalls or be dropped in. He can do either, and it
will be up to Anton to decide.”
At the finishing end of the race, however, Ramsden is hoping he can follow de
Kock’s example.
“Just getting Variety Club from South Africa to Dubai was marvelous,” he says.
“Winning would be a wonderful achievement for everyone concerned.”
Variety Club was confined to treadmill exercise for the
third day in a row on Friday.
“He had the equivalent of a light canter, because we want
to keep him fresh and bouncing,” said Ramsden, who revealed that he expects to
hand the colt into de Kock’s full-time care after Saturday’s race for an
international campaign.
“Apart from losing his unbeaten run on his last start,
everything has gone great, with nine weeks of preparation when he’s never missed
a day’s work through sickness or injury. Being drawn 15 of 16 takes it out of my
hands, it’s now all down to my jockey Anton Marcus, I hope he can devise a plan
to overcome it.”
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com