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Angus Mcnae

Captain's Blog, March 29

A synthetic World Cup!

It pains me to have to write about the Dubai World Cup this morning, because I feel compelled to express my disappointment at what it has become. The venue for the event is magnificent, the prize money is out of this world and the horses that competed in the race on Saturday are top class, the problem is that it was run on Tapeta and we got a typical synthetic style race. Some will say it was an exciting and close finish and what more do you want from the richest race in the World?

Well for a start I want the best horse to win because that horse can run faster than the others. I do not want a crawl and sprint style race which makes the outcome of the race nothing more than Equine Bingo. If you knew nothing about the race on Saturday and watched it from the home turn it could have been any handicap on any day. If you did the same when Dubai Millenium, Street Cry, Cigar, Moon Ballad and others were winning the same race at Nad Al Sheba you would believe you have seen something special. That we did not see a champion performance on Saturday is no slur on the gritty performance of the winner Gloria de Campeo, but if you ran the race 10 more times you could get 10 different results. This does not happen on dirt where the best horse wins and would win every time under the same conditions. Dirt surfaces have for years isolated horses as true champions because they can simply run faster than their rivals which is what Racing should be about. I am afraid that tapeta and polytrack will not make Champions, it will make for exciting finishes where any horse can win but there is no chance that it will bring us another Secretariat or Dubai Millenium. From now on we will have to look at the Dubai World Cup and analyse it according to the pace of the race and who got the best trip and who got hampered, no more will we be able to marvel at an outstanding performance where there are no excuses for the vanquished. Watch the race on Saturday again and you could be watching a Lingfield Handicap where the horse that is in front when the music stops wins. At the old Nad Al Sheba this never happened because the pace was always furious and the winner was always the best horse in the race.

Tapeta or Polytrack is akin to turf. It certainly brings about the same style of Racing and this therefore begs the question why do we have turf and Polytack? What is the point. If dirt surfaces are deemed to be so dangerous then we should race on Turf only. Synthetic surfaces are not a substitute for dirt becasue they are nothing like that surface, they are simply a different coloured turf. I am afraid the Dubai World Cup and indeed the Santa Anita Handicap for that matter are now an extension of turf racing on expensive synthetic tracks that make racing a tactical farce and do not breed Champions. I understand the welfare issues that are connected with racing on Dirt and respect them, but in an interview I had the privilege of conducting with the legendary Ameican trainer Bob Baffert, he told Racing UK that there is nothing wrong with traditional dirt tracks as long as they are properly maintained and some have fallen into disrepair. I am with Bob on this one and if all the money that has been spent on Synthetic tracks in America had been used to keep dirt tracks in tip top shape we would not now be in a situation where Secretariat style performances are rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Sorry to be so negative about what we saw on Saturday, but there will be those who went to the Dubai World Cup and who will be quick to sing the praises of the event and will go back year after year to enjoy all the trappings of Meydan and it is not in their interests to criticise the richest race in the World. I have to say what I see; and on Saturday I saw a lottery of a race which was decided by tactics and not raw ability and I am afraid that for me the Dubai World Cup will never again be the race it was and that in my opinion is a travesty.

I am just thankful that I was at Nad Al Sheba when Moon Ballad and Street Cry won their World Cups, they were champions who put up massive performances on the clock and I left the track knowing I had seen something special rather than just another race. It would be a shame if the World Cup became just another race but that is the way it is going.

I am at home today and am off to the Gym shortly before heading to London this evening for a bite to eat with a good mate of mine. Have a good day.

 

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