Hawwaam’s future: Decision pending

SAF-bred, multiple Gr1 winner Hawwaam (Silvano) has arrived in the United Kingdom following his spell of three months in Mauritius. He has joined Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Shadwell operation at Newmarket, pending a decision on his future.

Mike de Kock commented: “I’d love to see him go to Australia where I believe the fast, flat tracks will suit him. He many not enjoy the UK’s undulating tracks. Just recently we saw SA-bred Yulong Prince win a Gr1 race in Australia, our horses are good enough to win there at top level. Yulong Prince left South Africa at a lower rating than Hawwaam.”

Two other De Kock-trained horses that were shipped from Mauritius with Hawwaam are stabled at Abington Place in the care of Jane Chapple-Hyam. Najem Suhail (Starspangledbanner) and Marshall (Vercingetorix) are required to spend a month in the UK before they will travel on to Dubai for the 2021 Racing Carnival. Both are owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum.

Mike said: “Najem Suhail is a group sprinter, Marshall is a solid handicapper, but both have come now into the cold from hot Mauritius and will arrive late at the Carnival, best we could do under the restrictive export EU protocols. We’re on the back foot again, to start.”