De Kock And Dave The King chasing Gold Challenge hat-trick
He might not be in the same vein of form as when he was taking all before him in the past two runnings of the Group 1 Gold Challenge (1600m), but connections are confident Dave The King can give a bold showing when he attempts to win the coveted contest for the third straight year at Greyville this Saturday in Durban, South Africa.
Third at Scottsville on May 17 in his first race since January, Dave The King did enough to convince co-trainer Mathew de Kock he can make his presence felt this weekend.
“Last year he won the ‘prep’ run and this year he didn’t – we took exactly the same route – but he needed his return run quite badly this time around,” said de Kock, who trains in partnership with father Mike.
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“He’s tightened up well and come on well from that return run. He was a bit heavy for me on the scale – he was about 10kg (22lb) heavier than when he won this race last year. He’s lost that weight in between runs and he’s back to his winning weight, which I think is going to be key.
“He’s going to try and defend his title and it would be great if he could pull it off. You’d argue that he was probably coming in off a better ‘prep’ last year, but I’m not saying he can’t win.”
Standing between Dave The King and a rare hat-trick is a crack field headlined by See It Again, Eight On Eighteen and Questioning.
Vaughan Marshall-trained Questioning is arguably the form horse of the field after three consecutive victories, and De Kock is wary of the five-year-old out of barrier one.
“I’d say it’s probably a stronger race than last year. Questioning is going well and he’s drawn gate one and it doesn’t stop there – you’ve got multiple G1 winners in the race so it’s going to be a real test, but we’re looking forward to it,” he said.
Dave The King has also drawn well, and De Kock is confident the 2024 South African Horse of the Year will get the right run under jockey Callan Murray from gate three.
“I’m happy with the barrier. We always like to be drawn in the inside gates, and he generally races very forward, so it’s a perfect spot in my opinion,” said the co-trainer.
Justin Snaith’s See It Again is another galloper in top form after a string of impressive efforts in big races, including a last-start win in the Group 1 HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge (2000m) and victory in January’s Group 1 Cape Town Met (2000m).
Sandwiched between those efforts was a second behind Tin Pan Alley in the Group 1 Horse Chestnut Stakes (1600m), and that galloper is also among Saturday’s field.
A three-time Group 1 winner in 2025, Eight On Eighteen returned to form with a last-start second after a slow start to 2026, while Durban July winner The Real Prince, Gladatorian and Legal Counsel also have legitimate claims this weekend.
