For a trainer who has travelled halfway around the world to find fame, Doug Watson is surprisingly at his baptism of fire racing horses overseas with Meandre and Dux Scholar contesting the two Singapore International races this weekend.
In 10 years of training horses mainly for Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum in Dubai, the Ohio-born trainer has put the bridle on many quality gallopers like Kalahari Gold, Boston Lodge and Barbecue Eddie, winning the UAE premiership title three times.
But it's only now that he finally gets to load his first runners on a plane bound for an international event - Meandre, a French triple-Group 1 winner who will run in the $3 million Group 1 Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m) and Dux Scholar, who won one race at the recent Dubai Racing Carnival for trainer Seth Benzel and is targeted at the $1 million Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m).
While it may look like Watson's overseas dream only became reality shortly after sealing his newly-forged partnership with the pair's prominent owner, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the former finance degree holder said he had come close many times.
“I had a good horse called Kalahari Gold I was hoping could run in Hong Kong a couple of seasons ago,” said the 48-year-old conditioner, who has won up to Group 2 level (latest being Barbecue Eddie in the Al Maktoum Challenge last January).
“But he ran sixth in the Godolphin Mile and didn't pull up all that well. The race was a month away and I dropped the idea.
“To go overseas, you must have a horse with a decent chance or it is a waste of time. I myself have not had many runners at the Dubai World Cup meeting as most of my horses focus more on the domestic season during the Carnival.
“Obviously, Mr Kadyrov's two horses have the quality and the right credentials to go overseas and here I am. Win or lose, it's a first learning experience that I will take away, and hopefully, I can build on it in the future.
“Meandre was trained by Andre Fabre and I'm still learning about him. There's not much of him, but he's a proven horse on the international stage, having won three Group 1 races and did well to run sixth in the Dubai World Cup.
“Dux Scholar used to race over a mile and even up to 10 furlongs but he's now a sprinter. He ran seventh in the Al Quoz Sprint, but he was off the bridle early. He won his previous race up the straight easily.
“They're two very nice horses and I hope I can get a middle draw for both of them, but I'll take whatever we get.”
If life was a barrier draw, Watson himself was probably dealt a joker card when he was at the crossroads in his chosen career path in the competitive US horse racing arena.
After honing his craft with former US trainer Clint Goodrich across different leading American tracks such as Arlington Park, Keeneland and Gulfstream Park, Watson took a gamble when he decided to move 10,000km away to a place he only knew for its deserts and camels 20 years ago.
“One of my friends told me there was a job as barn leader with trainer Satish Seemar in Dubai,” said Watson whose stables are a stone's throw away from Godolphin's in Al Quoz.
“At the time, Dubai was only at its first official season of horse-racing, but the decision to leave Turfway Park in winter was an easy choice.
“I was with Satish for three years before I moved to Kiaran McLaughlin (won Dubai World Cup in 2007 with Invasor) from 1997 to 2002, but it was really during that time that I've really developed my skills as a trainer as Kiaran left me in charge in Dubai whenever he spent six months in New York.
“I took over Kiaran after he returned to the US for good in 2003, and I've had a really good run since. Though my style of training is very American, I don't see myself going back to the States as it's really competitive there and Dubai is where all my owners are - and it's also a place I call home now.”
