De Kock's Eagle ready to fly

Trainer Mike de Kock was in bullish mood after watching Eagle Mountain work on Thursday ahead of his tilt at the Breeders' Cup Turf.

The South African, who has trained a handful of horses from Newmarket this summer, will saddle his first runner at America's showpiece event but is looking forward to a big run from the recent HQ winner.

"He had a short breeze over four furlongs and is in very good form," he said. "He shipped incredibly well and has done well since his arrival, he's loving it with the sun on his back and seems to have as good a constitution as his trainer."

De Kock is undeterred by the horse's outside draw, adding: "It could easily have been 11 out of 20 if the race had been somewhere else and I'm quite happy to be there as he's a horse with a lot of gate speed, so it will be up to Kevin's (jockey, Shea) judgment to get him out and find a nice position.

"In fact looking at the configuration of the course I'd rather be outside of horses than inside.

"Last time the ground was quick and it didn't worry him. He's tightened up a bit and only lost two-and-a-half kilos on the journey out which is nothing.

"The benefit of having a base in England is that we can target the best races in the world and if he comes out of this satisfactorily he'll go to Hong Kong and then on to Dubai with a view to running in the Sheema Classic.

"He's a horse with fresh legs for Saturday and he's a great doer. He's the sort of horse who gets his head in the manger and eats every oat plus the fact that when he gets on to the track he's a street fighter who never gives in."