It says much about domestic attitudes that Mike de Kock, the South African trainer, will have more runners on World Cup night than the combined forces of Britain. Trainers who lambasted Yarmouth's feeble purses will be conspicuous by their absence tomorow, when prize-money of $21 million (about £10.5 million) is on the line.

Among myriad reasons for this is the oppressive heat. Yet de Kock said what precious few British trainers would dare to venture when he cited the racetrack's unforgiving surface for the paucity of British-trained runners. “I think a lot of European trainers are keeping their horses away because of how difficult it is to keep horses sound,” he ventured.

De Kock's comments apply in particular to the winter carnival, where horses are routinely trained on Nad Al Sheba's dirt track. Indeed, heavy rain in January served to compact the surface to the extent that Gerard Butler and Gay Kelleway flew back their stable stalwarts early.

De Kock persevered, however, despite having five group one-winning horses break down on him this winter. Rather than retreat, the man who once tended a herd of military horses in the Botswana bush, worked his way round the problem. He installed an equine treadmill on which his horses do the majority of their galloping.

Despite the high attrition rate, de Kock will saddle ten runners on the six-race World Cup card. He does so with confidence, having excelled in his regular winter carnival jousts with Godolphin.

His reward for his annual pilgrimage here is the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, a relative of the ruling family whose Asiatic Boy has a realistic shot at the $6 million World Cup. And having taken Dubai by storm, de Kock is bringing a 30-strong team to Newmarket next month. His horizons are as broad as the stable he is preparing to do battle with once again tomorrow night.

Conversely, Britain's trainers remain rooted in their conservative instincts. Just seven British-trained runners go to post. Two are way out of their depth, while Youmzain and Majestic Roi, a pair with prospects, are trained by Mick Channon for Jaber Abdullah, a native of Dubai.

If British reticence to compete here is largely down to the track, it will not apply in 2010. That is when the vast Meydan racecourse project is due for completion, and when a synthetic surface will almost certainly replace the American-style dirt track. The prospect has already fired the imagination of Jim Bolger, who saddles his dual classic winner, Finsceal Beo, in the Dubai Duty Free.

Bolger spoke yesterday of assimilating a select team of horses for the winter carnival in two years' time. Meanwhile, building on the Meydan project continues apace and World Cup visitors will be greeted by the sight of vast cranes laying foundations behind the existing grandstand.

Meydan's completion will deliver a stunning racecourse at just the right time. Reservations over the unyielding surface will evaporate, and the organisers can anticipate far greater participation from Europe in the World Cup itself. To date, just one of 12 World Cup renewals has eluded the axis comprising Godolphin and America. The dirt surface plainly overloads the dice.

More than ever this year, the World Cup struggles under the burden. Curlin may be the world's top-rated dirt horse but opposition to him is thin. According to bookmakers, the American horse's most potent rival is Godolphin's Jalil - and it is surely asking too much for him to take Curlin's scalp this time.

To most eyes the World Cup does not match the strength of fields assembled for the Dubai Duty Free and the Sheema Classic - both on turf. These are spine-tingling events in which broader international participation better reflects the original ethos of World Cup night.

One Sheema Classic runner is Gower Song, whose trainer, David Elsworth, is a rare British trainer possessed of entrepreneurial spirit. Elsworth brought Gower Song out here for the carnival and the five-year-old has already banked in excess of £80,000. The mare for whom Elsworth paid $30,000 runs tomorrow for a share of the $5 million pot.