Hawwaam and others off to quarantine station

STAR colt Hawwaam said good bye to Mike de Kock’s team and Randjesfontein this morning when he was loaded on a New Turf Carriers Float to Cape Town. He was joined by stablemates Marshall and Najem Suhail.

The trio will be going into quarantine at Kenilworth later this week, where they will remain before being shipped on to Mauritius and then to the UK, care of JJ van der Linden of Global Bloodstock Logistics and Candice Hobday of Hobday Equestrian Enterprises.

Van Der Linden said: “They will be joined on the flight to Mauritius by Robbie Sage’s Green Laser and the unbeaten War Room, who are destined for Singapore, as well as Eric Sands’ Royal Return and Brett Crawford’s Late At Night, who will be going to Hong Kong.”

De Kock noted ten days ago, when Hawwaam won the Champions Challenge: “This is an arduous journey. They will have to spend three weeks at Kenilworth and a further 90 days in Mauritius before they can travel on to the UK where a further 180-day residency will be required should we choose to travel to Australia.

De Kock confirmed this morning that SA Nursery runner-up Najem Suhail and the up-and-coming sprinter Marshall, both owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, will have Dubai as their final destination, while Hawwaam’s future will be discussed with Sheikh Hamdan but that the Australian campaign was being considered.

“I know what it takes to win abroad. Hawwaam is good enough to win a race like the Arlington Million the US, and he is more than good enough to win a Gr1 in Australia. I’d like to see him race in Australia. But look what we have to go through to get there!”

Hawwaam, who is looking a picture, will be accompanied to Cape Town by his groom Sonke Cacambile, who will see him off from the quarantine station. When the trio arrives in Mauritius, they will be joined by work rider Daniel Baase, a regular in Dubai with previous De Kock strings.

Matthew Sham of New Turf Carriers commented: “The horses will travel to Colesberg today and spend the night before travelling on to Cape Town.”