I just don’t think the UAE derby is the route to take

After running that for 20+ years to no avail, I agree.... Maybe they need to run it at 1 1/4 miles?

I think the ship alone is asking a lot.They are two completely different races.

You'd think the 6 week layoff would be more than enough to overcome the travel... but then you're still dealing with a longer than optimal layoff.

RAESFAN said...

Woo hoo!!!!!!! Mage for the win!!!!!!!

Hey!  That's fantastic!   And the trifecta, too.  What a very nice surprise to come home to after a long day out on the field.  

And hail to Big Brown, one of my favorite horses in modern times, who helped make Good Magic and Mage possible. 


Apollo curse, gate issues, you had to believe in him and I get that. 

It turns out that the three horses I had in the first two legs of my tri, were all I needed(3/8/14)! My $.50 tri could have been a $6 box! Oh well, I guess I should be satisfied.

As for Mage’s late starts, that might have helped, since the pace ended up so ridiculous. Other than Two Phil’s, all the horses that finished near the front, came from far back.

Nice day's work, Raes.  Congratulations.  It's good when the Ump catches a winner.  

Way to call ‘em, Raes! 

Phil's sire's dam, Turkish Tryst, has both Alydar and Roberto -- those are both C (classic) chefs. 
Second dam by Birdstone who won Belmont. 
Tenth dam by Man O'War.  OK, that's going pretty far back. 

SameSteve G said:

Still finished 6th

Sixth is still a very respectable finish for Derma or any other runner in Derby. Us players get hung up on 1st, 2nd, 3rd because that is what pays off for us.... but top half of the field is really respectable. 
I still think jockey should have sent him to front and stolen it -- he ran fast early and late in UAE Derby and he could have done it here. My main concern was the toll that travel takes on any horse coming to USA from Duubai.