Saturday’s Grade 3 Matchem Stakes winner, Jet Force, earmarked for a campaign with De Kock Racing’s ‘Global Stable’ at the 2027 Dubai Carnival, may have to stay on in South Africa after all. His traditional rival, Buffalo Storm Cody, also pencilled in for Dubai, is in the same boat – though not a dingy that will arrive unannounced at Jumeirah Beach.
Their international ambitions have been thrown into uncertainty because insufficient horses have been booked to make the charter financially feasible. The first flight set to carry horses overseas was delayed several weeks ago and the next available flight, scheduled for 6 December, is hanging in the balance, leaving their connections facing a frustrating wait over whether the charter will go ahead.
As things stand today, there is a further temporary stipulation which affects the Turffontein-trained Buffalo Storm Cody: Horses booked for the 9 December charter have to be at the quarantine station in Cape Town by the latest next Tuesday, 6 October, to start their residency on 30 October.
At the heart of the issue lies the exorbitant financial commitments associated with shipping racehorses overseas. It costs between US$45,000 and $USD50,000 (about R820,000) to fly a horse to an overseas destination, provided that there are 18-21 horses on the chartered flight. The cost of flying a single horse or just a few horses is so huge that it is not even considered an option.
JJ van der Linden of Global Bloodstock Logistics explained: “The price of fuel has gone haywire, leaving no room for flexibility. Also, at present the most suitable runners for international competition are not available to us. We have two, Jet Force and Buffalo Storm Cody, we may get one or two extra racers in the next few weeks, but the rest of the flight will have to be filled with sports horses or showjumpers.”
There is, however, enough hope to cling to.
Van der Linden said: “There is a good chance that travelling restrictions in place for horses going to Cape Town will be lifted as soon as this coming Friday, which will allow more time for Buffalo Storm Cody to get to the quarantine station.
“Also, the 9 December charter is enjoying good interest from exporters of sports horses. With a bit of luck we could have a plane full of horses before the cut-off date.”
If Jet Force and Buffalo Storm Cody do manage make the flight, the rest of the journey will look more or less like this:
10 December, arrive at Newmarket, UK, for required 30-day intermediary residency en route to Dubai: Full training is allowed, so both will be able to work in full preparation.
11 January: Arrival in Dubai, where a further 10 days in quarantine is required, or as a second option they can skip the quarantine but have to leave the UAE within 90 days.
21 January: To De Kock’s Racing’s Global Stable at Meydan.
Mike de Kock commented: “We will register the pair as UAE horses to qualify for the 10-day quarantine, as we did before with South African runners. We intend to raid Hong Kong races from our Dubai base.”
He added: “For them to race during the 2027 Carnival there will be a number of factors to consider, but in our favour is that they will arrive very fit from the UK, and we will be able to train them while they are in quarantine in Dubai. If everything falls into place, we’ll have enough time to get them tuned for races in the second half of the Carnival.”
At Turffontein, Tony Peter has indicated that he is keeping Buffalo Storm Cody ticking over until further notice, and Des McLachlan will have to adopt the same approach pending further developments.
We’ll keep fingers crossed!
