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| Staff Writer |
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The international connections of Isivunguvungu are preparing for a global assault on the Gr.1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Racecourse on April 5, with the South African-bred speedster now firmly on course for World Cup night.
The tongue-twistingly named sprinter (it means storm in isiXhosa) boasts connections from across the globe, being bred and owned in South Africa, trained by American-based Brit Graham Motion, and set to be ridden by French-based Belgian Christophe Soumillon.
Motion, who claimed Dubai World Cup glory in 2013 with Animal Kingdom, is relishing a return to the desert.
"It'll be exciting to get back, it's been a while," says Motion. "Winning the (Kentucky) Derby was amazing, but to get that horse back after two years off to win the Dubai World Cup, that was really gratifying. It was a two-year process to get him back for Dubai. That would have to be the highlight of my career."
Isivunguvungu's journey has been remarkable, from winning two Group One races in South Africa for Peter Muscutt, to winning his US debut for Motion at Colonial Downs, before finishing seventh in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. He began 2025 with a third in the Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, a run that pleased his handler.
"He's doing super; I thought he had a really good prep," he says. "You could make a case and say he should have won the race in order to come to Dubai, but I really needed to get a prep into him.
"He got a little sick after the Breeders' Cup when he shipped back to Fair Hill and ended up having a month off, so he literally only had four bits of work before this race at Tampa. So it was more about the timing, and the turf course, and getting a race with him.
"I thought he ran a creditable race. He was a little wide, he had a bad draw. The race achieved what we wanted it to, and he performed perfectly well under the circumstances."
The Fair Hill-based trainer has been impressed with Isivunguvungu's work since arriving in America.
"He's probably one of the best work horses I've had," he continues. "He's really rapid in the morning. Not in a crazy, running off, type way, he's just a very fast horse, but a very kind horse to be around."
Isivunguvungu will travel to Dubai with Motion's long-term travelling assistant, Alice Clapham, who was also responsible for Animal Kingdom.
"He can be aggressive on the track and do more than you want him to, if you're not careful," adds the trainer. "I very much doubt I'll breeze him over there. He'll do two pieces of work before he comes, and I'll just gallop him up to the race."
South African success on World Cup night is nothing new, but due to quarantine restrictions you must go back to 2015 and Mubtaahij, trained by Mike de Kock, for their last success on Dubai World Cup night. As such, the Isivunguvungu support network will be out in force.
"They had a tough go with Covid, where they really struggled for a bit, and I think they've really shown that these horses can be very competitive internationally," says Motion, who claimed a notable success recently when the South African bred and owned Beach Bomb won the Gr.3 The Very One Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
"When these horses came to me, this time last year, they were in quarantine for two months. The objective was to get Beach Bomb and Isivunguvungu to the Breeders' Cup and in order to do that they couldn't miss a beat. It was remarkable that everything went as well as it did.
"There's a big group coming to Dubai, with Mike (de Kock), I believe. The horse which won the King's Plate, which was a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In, One Stripe, is going to come to us after he runs next weekend. So that's kind of exciting too."
Motion is a global thinker and has also nominated a colt, Test Score, for the Gr.1 Derby at Epsom, though considers that unlikely. Having come close with Spendarella when runner-up to Inspiral in the Gr.1 Coronation Stakes in 2022, he harbours ambitions for Royal Ascot.
"One of my goals is to win a race over there. I'm always thinking about it," he says. "I think straightaway is tough, even though Tepin did it, which she probably didn't get enough credit for."
Perhaps Isivunguvungu will be the horse to get him back to Royal Ascot. But first, it's the Al Quoz and that international cast must step up to the assignment. If they win, it will bring the house down.