Dumb horses talk turkey

Horses are pretty stupid. They might be smarter than sheep, or chickens, but they're not the sharpest tools in the farmyard.

People are often surprised to hear this. We generally think of horses in positive terms - beautiful, graceful, noble-looking - and just presume they've got it upstairs as well. After all, elephants are all those good things, and crafty too.

Horses might be loveable and admirable, but they don't possess half the cognitive capacity of my canine stoepkakker, for example.

Of course, horses do have interesting and diverse personalities and aren't just an amorphous dof bunch, like a pack of whipped parliamentarians.

And some are smarter than others. Many a racehorse trainer has told me that the best runners are always the smartest ones - though the converse ain't true.

The great Pocket Power loved winning but disliked other things about racing - notably being shoved into small spaces, such as horse boxes, starting stalls and even the winner's circle. Yet he had enough intelligence to know that what he liked - a feeling of superiority over rivals; human adulation, perhaps - was only attainable if he put up with the other stuff just sufficiently to get those hooves onto the turf.

Trainers deal with a multitude of horsey quirks - some due to a smidgeon of intelligence, others a lack thereof. It can't be easy getting up at sparrow's every day to try to get a herd of skittish half-wits to co-operate in building physical prowess.

The best among this curious tribe is Mike de Kock, who has lately been focused on getting his Dubai-based string into physical and psychological shape for tomorrow's multimillion-dollar World Cup meeting.

De Kock saddles eight runners on the night, including Sanshaawes in the World Cup itself.

This horse has surprised everyone. Unfashionably bred and bought for a song, he did just enough to get a berth on the northbound plane.

There's clearly something about Dubai that has appealed to Sanshaawes's competitive spirit, and he's cracked an invitation to the big one. He's at 10/1 but don't hold your breath for a win; he's up against Epsom Derby winner Ruler Of The World, from the mighty Aidan O'Brien yard.

De Kock rates his best chances with the indomitable Shea Shea, evens for a reprise victory in the Al Quoz Sprint, and Soft Falling Rain, who's going for a Godolphin Mile repeat.

For me, the interesting South Africans are unbeaten Vercingetorix, 7/1 for the Dubai Duty Free, and Joey Ramsden-trained Variety Club, in the Godolphin Mile.

De Kock simply doesn't know how good Vercingetorix is, as the colt is clever enough to know that he needn't overdo things in training in order to keep winning. Take note: a smart one.

As for Variety Club, well, he loves a big occasion. Like Pocket Power, winning's his thing.

If it's the Dubai World Cup it must also be Classic Day at Turffontein. The combo has made this particular Saturday one of the biggest racing days of the year.

And the best news of all? Tellytrack this week sealed a new deal with Multichoice, so channel 239 is still the place for the action.