Singapore's Horse of the Year Debt Collector (NZ) (Thorn Park {Aus}) will face the starter in the $6-million G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan Mar. 25, trainer Cliff Brown confirmed Monday. Brown had just returned from a fact-finding mission to Dubai to make sure conditions at Meydan suited the Barree Stable runner.
“I've never been to Dubai,” commented the Australian to the Singapore Turf Club notes team. “I wanted to take a look for myself and see what the conditions are like, mainly the track and the training facilities. I couldn't afford to go blind. I was happy with what I saw, and we decided to run him after all.”
Debt Collector, a three-time Singapore Group 1 scorer, finished third last out in a 1600-metre open race Mar. 3, but it was discovered later that he suffered from respiratory distress during the running. A subsequent vet check cleared the bay, who has bounced back well from his subpar performance.
“Yes, we did have a rethink after his last race, but we waited a little to see how he pulled up and he's recovered from that respiratory distress,” said Brown, who saw his charge's eight-race winning streak snapped Mar. 3. “I'm happy with his condition and that's the race we wanted to have a crack at. We wouldn't know if he can measure up if we stayed at home, and that's why we rolled the dice and went for it. He is leaving at the end of this week, together with Ricardo [Le Grange]'s horse [Quechua {Arg} {Pure Prize}].”
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