From Dubairacenight.com: After beating Xtension and California Memory, barely off the bridal, over the weekend at Sha Tin in the Stewards Cup, it's just been announced that it's possible Ambitious Dragon will run in the G1 Dubai Duty Free on world cup night on March 31st!!!
The last truly great rivalry between 2 brilliant American horses, IMO, was the Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer rivalry back in 1989. But I do believe had he not broken down in the 2006 Preakness that Barbaro and Bernardini had the potential to become that same kind of rivalry on the same scale. TJMO.
Buena Vista is such a class race-mare!! Again, she comes out and proves that at her best, she's still one of the very best middle distance turf horses in the world. After the DISGRACEFUL disqualification that she suffered in this race last season, it really was sweet to see Buena Vista come right back a year later, better than ever, and stick that awful decision right back up the as-es of the Japanese stewards. There couldn't have been a more deserving winner of the race than Buena Vista, IMO. I was a little disappointed to hear that next month's G1 Arima Kinen will be the final race of her career. I was hoping she'd return to Dubai one more time. But for another crack at the Sheema Classic instead of the Dubai World Cup. Still, the Arima Kinen should be an exciting race. As it will be the one and only time that Buena Vista will face this year's Japanese Triple Crown winner, Orfevre.
Snow Fairy's trainer, Ed Dunlop, just announced a couple of days ago on England's Racing Post web-site that he and her owners have decided to try the G1 Hong Kong Vase over 12f with Snow Fairy this year. She won the G1 Hong Kong Cup over 10f last season at Sha Tin. Snow Fairy is seeking to become the first horse to ever win both the G1 Hong Kong Cup and the G1 Hong Kong Vase. Dunlop also went on to say that his recent G1 Melbourne Cup runner-up, Red Cadeaux, will also run in the G1 Hong Kong Vase, too.
Really do love this mare, and I think she's an enormous talent. But in all candor, it's starting to get boring watching Black Caviar drum the same sprinters over and over in Australia in little more than an exercise canter. Australia has always been known for producing some of the world's top turf sprinters. But their G1 sprints have never been known for being the top G1 turf sprints in the world. It's time for Black Caviar to take her mega-talented show on rode, and go to Sha Tin for the G1 Hong Kong Sprint. Or to Singapore for the G1 Krysflyer International Sprint. Or even to Ascot next June for either the G1 King's Stand Stakes over 5f or the G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes over 6f? Because the top sprint competition that Black Caviar should already be facing just isn't going to come to Australia to face her. TJMO.
Really impressed with St. Nicholas Abbey's performance winning the BC Turf. Against some very good European and American turf horses. I think it's a pretty fair statement to say that Aidan O'Brien's horses all performed well for Ballydoyle this year, and they were by far the best of the European stables represented at this year's Breeders Cup.
I feel bad for this horse, because he really was one of the most mismanaged horses that I saw all season. He was hyped beyond belief from day 1, and he delivered as a 2yr.old. His win in last year's BC Juvenile is eclipsed only by Arazi's win in the race in 1991 for how impressive it was, IMO. But Mo has looked a very average 3yr.old at best this season. I know he had the liver issues. But his run in the G1 Wood Memorial is allegedly the only the race this season that those issues effected his performance. He was beaten on square in the G1 King's Bishop by Caleb's Posse, and beaten by a street in the G1 BC Classic. A race he should've never been entered in to start with. His only win as a 3yr.old was in the G2 Kelso Stakes over Jackson Bend. As lightly raced as Mo is, I think it's a mistake not to bring him back as a 4yr.old, and at the very least give him chance to get a couple of more graded stakes win's on his resume'. That would certainly enhance his future stud value a great deal. JMO.
A class filly that's been 1st or 2nd in all of her stakes start's in France this season. She'll be a tough beat for other fillies and mares on the turf here in the US, IMO.
Terrific ride by Ryan Moore to win this race on Wrote. He had finished 3rd behind stablemate Daddy Long Legs in the G2 Royal Lodge Stakes coming into in this race. But really showed he's capable of winning at this level in the Juvenile Turf. I think it's fair to say with Misty For Me having run such a game effort in the F&M Turf on Friday. Then Wrote winning the Juvenile Turf and St. Nicholas Abbey winning the BC Turf on Saturday that Ballydoyle looked by far the best European stable represented at the Breeders Cup this year. JMO.
I'm really happy for Aidan and young Joseph O'Brien. But most of all, I'm really happy for St. Nicholas Abbey winning the BC Turf. Everyone in the UK had St Nicholas Abbey down as the "second coming" when he went unbeaten as a 2yr.old in 2009, and ended that season with win's in the G2 Beresford Stakes in Ireland, and by mauling the G1 Racing Post Trophy field at Doncaster. Then he had a disappointing 6th place finish in the G1 English 2000 Guineas as a 3yr.old as a heavy favorite to win the race, and everyone wrote St Nicholas Abbey off. He's come back this season as a 4yr.old and had a really terrific season from top to bottom. He won the G3 Ormonde Stakes at Chester over 1-3/4. Then defeated Midday at Epsom in the G1 Coronation Cup over 1-1/2. He also had very respectable run's in the G2 Prix Foy and the G1 Prix De l' Arc De Triomphe at Longchamp this season, too. I backed Sea Moon to win the BC Turf. But St. Nicholas Abbey winning the race certainly wasn't a shock result. Both of the horses that Ballydoyle had in the race are top class on their best day.