De Kock Racing Dubai Plan Built on Colorado Del Monte
Grey Colt Leads Dubai Return
De Kock Racing is reopening its Dubai stable for the 2026-2027 Dubai Racing Carnival, part of a new Global Stable initiative built around Justin Vermaak, Hollywood Racing and the Wernars family. The project's first purchase, Argentine 3YO Colorado Del Monte, is set to spearhead the stable's return to a city where it built its reputation between 2003 and 2020.
Colorado Del Monte, a grey colt by Strategos out of Seductive Voice, won the Gr.1 Gran Premio Dos Mil Guineas on turf at Hipódromo de San Isidro in July 2026 in a time of 1:35.27, having earlier taken the Gr.1 Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile as a two-year-old. He was bred by Haras El Paraíso and had campaigned for Stud Facundito under trainer Nicolás Martín Ferro with Gustavo Calvente in the saddle before his sale to Vermaak Equine on behalf of Hollywood Racing.
The stated long-term vision, per De Kock Racing's own website, is to return South African Thoroughbreds to the global marketplace while sourcing quality horses from other jurisdictions to compete in the Middle East, with an eventual eye on the United States. Mike de Kock, trainer at De Kock Racing, said: "We have been looking for a decent dirt horse for a while."
De Kock pointed to past South American imports as the model the stable is looking to repeat. "We had amazing runners from South America who won many top races including Asiatic Boy, Honour Devil and Lundy's Liability," he said, adding of the new arrival: "Our new buy is a versatile horse and makes this re-launch of our Dubai operation even more exciting."
A Colt Cost a Gr.1 Placing
Colorado Del Monte's record carries an asterisk from the Gr.1 Gran Premio Montevideo, run on dirt over 1500 metres at Palermo on 1 May 2026. He crossed the line first but was demoted to third by the stewards, a result that leaves him with two Group One wins from four starts rather than three. The colt has won on both dirt and turf as a juvenile and into his 3YO season, and connections have indicated that his path could take in the Meydan dirt, the Jumeirah series or an eventual US campaign, depending on how he progresses and takes to conditions once he arrives.
Mike de Kock has trained more than 3,600 winners across South Africa, the UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the US, and holds the national record for most Group One wins by a trainer. He has trained in partnership with his son Mathew de Kock since February 2025, following Mathew's return to South Africa from Australia, and the pair now take on the Global Stable project together.
Colorado Del Monte Joins Global Stable
De Kock said eased South African equine export protocols now allow horses destined for Dubai to travel via France or the European Union, cutting transit and quarantine time compared with previous arrangements. He said the change also brings Mary Slack's Abington Place training base at Newmarket back into consideration for the stable's operations.
De Kock said the Global Stable is intended to work as a facilitator for owners with leading South African horses, in the way the stable previously carried Variety Club, Lizzard's Desire and Sun Classique to international campaigns. He said the current environment for bloodstock has made it difficult to bring the country's top horses into a Dubai string, and that the operation is presently looking at a number of South African-breds to join it.
Hollywood Racing has purchased yearlings from Australasia and Argentina over the past two seasons as it builds its own South African-based string, according to Vermaak Equine, with the aim of developing a pipeline of horses capable of joining the Dubai stable in future seasons. A team trip to Argentina in March 2026 led to a separate string of purchases, now rising two-year-olds, intended to race in Argentina before the best are exported to the Middle East.
Vermaak Equine has described the Global Stable as open to all owners wishing to race their horses in Dubai, with strategic start-up support from Hollywood Racing and Laurence Wernars. The initiative's stated aim is to build a sustainable international racing programme centred initially on Dubai, with pathways into the wider Middle East and selected jurisdictions abroad.
His dirt pedigree and Group One-winning form on turf give the new operation a horse whose connections hope can adapt to Meydan, with alternative options elsewhere in the Middle East or the US kept open should he not take to conditions there in his opening season.