Nur came to Zimbabwe in September last year well after the Challenge.
Although he brought along with him 15 horses he has only declared Approval Rating for the OK Challenge which was at 5/1 on the opening day of betting.
The Mashonaland Turf Club bookmakers have put Approval Rating as second favourite along with Ginepri just behind Super Trouper who is at 4/1 and Nur says the horse is worth the billing.
" Approval Rating has been running a cracker. What is now left is for him to announce his arrival in Zimbabwe by winning the OK Challenge.
He is among the favourites and he is going to prove just that," said Nur.
Nur said Approval Rating is suited to the distance adding that he is going into the race to justify the faith entrusted on him by David Armstrong who owns Approval Rating.
In Kenya, the 36 year old Nur was training 24 horses for David and Sydney Armstrong and in 2012 won the biggest races in Kenyan racing, the Kenya Derby with the South African horse Just Bluffing. However, racing in Kenya offers very low stakes to the extent that Kenya Derby offered the winning horse $7 200.
That is far less than what the second placed horse in the OK Challenge will get. The horse that finishes second will get $8 000 while the winning horse is guaranteed of $24 000.
Nur has been training horses for the past six years. He was given his chance by Jane Prette-John who offered him the chance to partake courses in stable management in the United Kingdom between 1997 and 1999. He followed this up with another course in Germany in 2000 before ending up in New Zealand in 2011.
He started off working for the Mason family in 2006 taking care of the horse Chilulu. With Chilulu he won the The St Leger race and repeated that feat with another horse Skeleton Coast. Prior to coming to Zimbabwe last year he was placed third in the trainer standings in Kenya. He, however, did not bring along his favourite jockey Patrick Mungai.
At Borrowdale, Nur joins the small list of trainers that include Lisa Harris, Kirk Swanson, Gail Odendaal, Sebastien D'Aquino, Gokhan Terzi, Alyson Wright, Dave Wiley, and Gavin Mcleod.
Post published in: Sport