Saturday’s Donn Handicap (G1) at Gulfstream Park, arguably the most successful Dubai World Cup (G1) prep, was wholeheartedly dominated by Quality Road in a nearly 13-length score over Dry Martini and Delightful Kiss, setting a new course record for nine furlongs.
Quality Road was scratched at the gate of the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) when misbehaving while attempting to load. The gate crew blindfolded the colt, who was sidelined from the Kentucky Derby trail earlier that year with hoof issues, and that exacerbated the situation. The son of Elusive Quality is now two-for-two since the incident with wins coming over his beloved Gulfstream Park surface. Saturday, he was well-respected from the bettors, installed as the 2-5 prohibitive choice.
Quality Road has yet to have a start over a synthetic surface, but trainer Todd Pletcher was intent on trying that approach at Santa Anita before the gate scratch. With a $10,000,000 prize looming, and a sensitive horse clearly showing the best form of his career, is it enough to lure him to the desert? We think so…do the connections?
One Comment
No, no, no. They should not even consider Dubai. They just got this colt right, shipping him to a foreign conuntry to run over a foreign surface could undo all the good they worked on the colt. Is he the sharpest horse in training, heck yes, could he possiblly head downhill after a productive wineter and spring, yes. However there is a chance, and a very good one that he could become even better, perhaps good enough to take on the likes of Zenyatta and Rachel. Going to Dubai would wipe away any chance of that happening at all, and why, because sooner or later the Dubai bounce always takes affect. Curlin was the modern era superhorse and iron man and look what the effects of traveling did to him. By the time BC rolled around he was not the same horse he was during the winter or spring. Curlin also was a healthy sturdy horse, who was not just getting over mental problems sustained in prior races. QR is, which would make him even more prone to being knocked out as soon as they put him on a plane back to the U.S. Then what would happen to the horse we could’ve seen tearing up the older ranks and standing toe to toe with two of the best fillies of all time? There are plenty of high profile races in the U.S. for the connections of QR to consider, before taking the ultamite road to the BCC. Going to the WC would almost certainly ruin what could be the best horse since Spectacular Bid.