Mubtaahij prepared for another swing at American Pharoah

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Michael de Kock has competed in and won major races all over the world, but not until last month had he ever run a horse in the Kentucky Derby, where Mubtaahij finished eighth in the field of 18. His participation in American classics will double on Saturday, when Mubtaahij competes in the Belmont Stakes.

De Kock returned to his native South Africa after the Derby, but Mubtaahij came here to Belmont Park with assistant Trevor Brown to prepare for the Belmont. De Kock flew in from Johannesburg on Monday and on Tuesday morning got to see Mubtaahij train in person for the first time since the Derby.

He liked what he saw but stopped far short of predicting Mubtaahij would deny American Pharoah the Triple Crown. He thinks he has a good horse but is realistic about the task at hand.

“He looks very good, very keen,” de Kock said as Mubtaahij finished galloping over a sloppy, sealed main track on an unseasonably chilly morning. “He looks tighter. He’s eating well. I think we can get a lot closer result than the Derby, but whether he can turn the tables around, I don’t know.

“This is a much more straightforward prep,” he said, referring to the ample time Mubtaahij has had to train at Belmont Park. “But I think American Pharoah is going to be a very tough horse to beat.”

Mubtaahij had a circuitous route to the Kentucky Derby. After five races during the winter in Dubai, culminated by a victory in the United Arab Emirates Derby, he flew to the United States and was originally at Arlington Park outside of Chicago before finally shipping to Churchill Downs, where he had one work prior to the Derby. He has had five works here since May 17 and might have one more this week, de Kock said.

“He seems to be getting over this track much better,” de Kock said. “His stride is a lot better.”

De Kock said he would prefer a dry track for the Belmont. “I wouldn’t know how he would do on a sloppy track,” he said. “He’s never experienced it.”

That’s not his biggest potential hurdle, though. De Kock called American Pharoah “a super horse.”

“His stride, it’s like he’s moving on a monorail,” de Kock said. “He does it with such ease. I saw video of his recent workout. He’s proper. If he fluffs his lines, anyone can win it. But if I trained him, I’d have a little bounce in my step.”

De Kock said Mubtaahij will head to England after the Belmont Stakes and get a freshening before being prepared for a winter campaign, with the focal point being the Dubai World Cup next March. That race is run over the same Meydan dirt course over which he won the UAE Derby.

A field of eight was expected to be entered on Wednesday in the Belmont. American Pharoah, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, flew from Kentucky to New York on Tuesday following his final Belmont Stakes workout at Churchill Downs on Monday.

He was accompanied on the flight by Keen Ice, who worked a half-mile Tuesday morning at Churchill in 50.20 seconds. Keen Ice finished seventh in the Derby in his last start.

– additional reporting by David Grening