TWICE Equus Horse Of The Year Variety Club has joined Mike de Kock’s yard in the wake of his US$1 million Gr 2 Godolphin Mile win on Dubai World Cup night.

The move  of Variety Club from Joey Ramsden is seen as a practical decision by owners Markus and Ingrid Jooste. Ramsden nurtured the magnificent horse from youngster into the champion he is today, winning 16 races from 22 starts including four Gr 1s, four Gr 2s and four Gr 3s.

Variety Club takes a walk after a morning workout at Meydan recently. (Andrew Watkins).

Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman said, “There is nothing sinister in the move. It will just allow Joey to concentrate on his local string. Joey will also continue to benefit financially from Variety Club’s success as much as he would have done as the trainer.”

Brugman revealed that Variety Club had pulled up “100%” from Saturday’s win and would have his first run under De Kock’s name in the Gr 1 HK$12 million BMW Champions Mile in Hong Kong on May 4 at Sha Tin. – extracts from an article by David Thiselton.