CHAMPION filly Igugu and the stable’s recently acquired, The Apache, are notable exclusions from the nominations for the Gr1 2012 Vodacom Durban July, announced on Thursday.

Mike de Kock explained on Friday that the pair, and a group of other runners, will be going into quarantine in Cape Town on 6 May with the aim of being shipped to Dubai via Mauritius and the UK.

He said: “For Igugu and others to be able to compete internationally at the end of the year and next year in Dubai we have no choice but to make early arrangements to get them out of the country as soon as we can, which is about now. It’s really ridiculous, but we cannot take the chance of waiting until after the July, for example. We’re following the export protocol as it stands  right now.”

Igugu, The Apache and a number of horses owned by Sheikh Hamdan of Dubai, including Soft Falling Rain, Istqraar, Mushreq, Jet Legend and Royal Ridge will be spending 19 days at the Kenilworth Quarantine Station, followed by 90 days in Mauritius and a further 30 days in the United Kingdom.

“The plan is for The Apache to contest a race in Hong Kong at year-end, while the rest will travel on to Dubai,” he said.

Both Igugu and The Apache were last seen in action in the J&B Met on 30 January at Kenilworth, when they finished first and sixth respectively.