Hawwaam has arrived at Newmarket in the UK and is in the care of trainer William Haggas.
In a podcast with the UK’s Nick Luck, Mike de Kock spoke about Hawwaam, hs ability, and how he believes the son of Silvano will handle the conditions in Europe.
“He’s definitely got ability,” said De Kock. “He is obviously a very good horse but we need to see if he can if he can deal with the undulations of UK racecourses.
“He’s a horse who can have a bit of temperament. He is one of those who just wants to be left alone, he’s the boss, and when he plays up it’s when he doesn’t get his own way.
“He’s not soft at all, because he is quite aggressive, but he’s a sort of delicate horse. Although, if he can adapt to the situation there (in Europe) I think he can do very, very well.
“I’ve found South African horses can sometimes struggle as soon as there’s too much cut in the ground, they struggle with those undulations, they get too deep in because they’re just not used to it.
“I would think he would do fairly well with the cut above the ground in a fast-run race.
“It will be very interesting see how the South African form stacks up against the UK horses.”
When asked how he compares to with other horses De Kock has brought to the UK, he commented that while a horse like Shea Shea performed well in sprints, there is a lot of strength in the European races over 2000m. “I think he’ll be competitive, but it is difficult to assess because I think the best of this horse is still to come.
“He is by Silvano and often the older they get, the better they get. So, if he can improve on his current South Africa Grade 1 form, he will be competitive, but I think he will have to raise it another few pounds.”