MIKE DE KOCK is anticipating another big run from ex-Ballydoyle-trained Archipenko next weekend as the South African trainer bids to embellish a fine record in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
De Kock, who will have a stable of horses based at Geoff Wragg's Newmarket yard this summer, won the Sha Tin contest in 2006 with Irridescence, having saddled runner-up Greys Inn the previous season.
Archipenko goes into Sunday week's valuable Group 1 event on the back of a close third behind compatriot Jay Peg in the Dubai Duty Free, where he had to be switched at a crucial stage.
“Archipenko has come out of his Dubai Duty Free race really well,” said De Kock. “I was impressed with his mile race before World Cup night, so his performance in the Dubai Duty Free did not come as a big surprise.
“He's a horse that I feel that I haven't yet got to the bottom of, there's still improvement in him. I felt he still ran a bit green in the Duty Free, there was a gap that appeared for him, but he wasn't experienced enough to take it - if he had, he wouldn't have been far off winning.”
Rivals in Hong Kong will include defending champion Viva Pataca and the German challenger Quijano, second and fourth respectively behind the De Kock-trained Sun Classique over 1m4f in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
“Well, this is over 2,000 metres, not 2,400, and Viva Pataca is the hometown horse,” said De Kock. “I'm not saying Archipenko andSun Classique are the same at all, but I think he'll be competitive.”
Duty Free winner Jay Peg is now being targeted at the Singapore Airlines International Cup on May 18.
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