Master of Hounds sold to sheikh, will race in Dubai

Master of Hounds, the fifth-place Kentucky Derby finisher and a close second earlier this year in the UAE Derby, has been privately purchased from the Coolmore operation by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum of Dubai and turned over to trainer Mike de Kock.

The private purchase was completed in the last month, and Master of Hounds soon will be shipped from Ireland to de Kock’s yard in England. But de Kock, in Chicago to start River Jetez in the Beverly D. Stakes, said Master of Hounds won’t run again until this winter’s International Racing Carnival in Dubai.

“He’s specifically for the carnival,” said de Kock. “I think we’ll stay on the synthetic. He got beat a short head in the UAE Derby.”

Master of Hounds, a Kingmambo colt, most recently finished 10th in the Belmont Stakes. De Kock has had previous success with horses purchased from Coolmore, particularly Archipenko, who finished second in the 2008 Arlington Million, and Eagle Mountain, who was second in the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Turf.