DUBAI // Steven Burridge's highly successful assault on the UAE racing scene is not a case of beginner's luck but the product of years of planning, according to Mick Lockett, his assistant.
The Australian boasts four wins from five runs on his debut UAE season and two members of his Dubai raiding party are back in action at Meydan Racecourse this afternoon.
His six-year-old stable stalwart, Captain Obvious, takes a step up in class in the Group 3 Al Shindagha Sprint on the all-weather after winning his UAE debut outing. IP Man, a three year old, also goes for his second consecutive UAE win in the Meydan Classic Trial on the grass track.
"It wasn't a spur of the moment decision to bring these horses out here," said Lockett.
"We brought out our best horses, the ones that we thought had the ability to get to World Cup day. Steve has been waiting and planning for this season for a number of years."
Lockett said the success of Burridge's horses in Dubai may inspire more Singapore-based owners to bring runners to the Emirates.
"You would think that with the prize money as it is out here you would see more coming out," he said. "It all depends on the owners, they have to be willing to travel their horses."
Burridge's runners are not the only Singapore horses to make a mark on Dubai. Rocket Man, Singapore's most famous racehorse, was second in the 2010 Golden Shaheen while the trainer Michael Freedman also saddles horses in the UAE this season.
