Ethereal…Unreal…Spiritual
Grade I
Six furlongs
Fast Dirt
$500,000
All horses, 3 years old and up <\/p>\n
Welcome to Dubai for the first of todays two Grade I races, The ETHEREAL over 6f on the dirt course. A full field of 14 have turned up today despite the presence of the current number 1 rated horse and expect a real cavalry charge over the straight 6f. Lets take a look a the runners-<\/p>\n
CENTEROFATTENTION(IRE) (PEINTRE CELEBRE (IRE) x NIJINSKY II x MILL REEF) elysium
Massive jump in class for this one, having won an allowance two starts back and finishing second in a stakes latest. He did put up a 104 sp in that race and also has a recent 103 but even that should not be enough for a top five finish here. I expect another decent run and another 104 should see him finish midfield. A few wins in stakes company may be in order before attempting this grade again.<\/p>\n
LOOKING FOR MORE (BRAHMS x PENTELICUS x DISTANT VIEW) gene
Has put together a decent seris of runs in stakes and graded company, including a stakes win over this trip producing a 109 sp and a closing third in a Grade I latest with a 107 sp. Comes from a mile back and that’s always a bit risky over this short a trip, hence the plethora of recent money finishes. If he can produce another run like his last he could reach the top five. Must be worth another run at a mile but even so he looks like he belongs at this level.<\/p>\n
DELIGENCE (POSSE x A.P. INDY x FORTY NINER) julie
Had put together a sparkling series of runs including two Grade II wins with 111 and 113 sp’s but his last two runs have been woeful by comparison, well beaten in seventh and eighth. Those were probably better contests but even so those runs are a worry. Another 111 or 113 and he’d really give the favourite a problem but two more runs like his last two and he’ll be bringing up the rear.<\/p>\n
CASTERLY ROCK(IRE) (GIANT’S CAUSEWAY (IRE) x GONE WEST x SADLER’S WELLS) grrm
Well herehe is, the current number one rated horse in the sim. Has now won six out of his last seven, including five in a row with two Grade I’s, a Grade II and a Grade III. With five of the sp’s being 110 or better he’s going to take some stopping here. He’ll sit just off the front and should be able t cover any moves So are there any chinks in his armour? Not that i can see although logic and luck say that he can’t win every race. Have to pick him as the winner and it will take a lifetime best by something else to beat him.<\/p>\n
DIXIE GLOW (DIXIE UNION x TWINING x GLOW) kaif099
Another solid consistent performer in stakes and graded races but his best runs have been at 7 and 7.5f. His only recent try at less than 7f (6.5f) produced a twelvth place and a 98 sp. He has a recent 114 sp over 7f and another run like that and the win might be his but that poor 6.5f run bothers me. It may just have been a one off poor run but as he comes from midfield or further back and looks as though he could easily get a mile I think the trip may have been a problem. Therefore I think he’ll struggle today.<\/p>\n
CATSHKO (CAT THIEF x NORTHFIELDS x HALO) zoshka
Don’t know what to make of this one at all. On balance his best runs have been at 7f plus but eight runs back he put up a 104 over todays trip. Even at his best he shouldn’t be good enough to win here but a run somewhere near his best could see a top five place. However one of his poorer runs and he’ll be battling for the wooden spoon. For me they’ll be going to fast for him today.<\/p>\n
MY SHEBA T (KINSHASA x ALYSHEBA x DYNAFORMER) tsyndicate
Bit of a veteran now and his form seems to have dropped off recently. End of last year and start of this he was still running 105 sp’s and getting in the money in graded races but his last five runs have been well below that, although he did win an allowance. For me thats the key, he belongs at that level now and I expect another struggle today. Will be nearer last than first.<\/p>\n
EMPIRE OF THE SUN (GENERAL MEETING x MR. PROSPECTOR x GREY DAWN II) joanneb
Another veteran who’s still capable of running a 100 sp but that’s never going to be enough today. His latest Graded race resulted in an eleventh place and i expect more of the same today. Dropped back into allowance level he can still be competative but not today.<\/p>\n
SMUGGLER’S CATCH (CAPOTE x SEEKING THE GOLD x VICEREGAL) zeplin
An interesting runner mainly due to his last two tuns. He had won a couple of stakes races earlier in the year but his form looked to have plateau’d, however he then produced two 107 runs to take second in a grade III and a grade I. He will try and win from the front and another run like his last two should see him hold on for a top three place. I still see the favourite going past him in the last furlong but I don’t see much else getting past.<\/p>\n
POLISH REALITY (POLISH NAVY x GULCH x KNOWN FACT) champions4
A super consistent runner here with recent grade I and grade II wins and a whole host of 105 plus sp’s. He’s also thrown in a 112 and a 113 and therefore has to be the main danger to the favourite. Even a \u201cnormal\u201d 105 run would get him in the top five and another 110 plus will get him in the top three. Given that he’ll be taking on SMUGGLERS CATCH for the lead they could set up a nice toe for the favourite. Still they could be going too fast for most of the others here and I think he’ll hold on for second or third.<\/p>\n
PEACE ALLY (PEACE RULES x ALYSHEBA x SALT LAKE) ell2020
Another solid runner and another with a real good run latest. He’ll be sitting with the favourite just off the pace but he only seems to put out his absolute best every few runs and with that last run I wonder if he can produce another big run here. The balance of his form says he can’t produce two top class runs in a row and therefore the best i can see is a top five.<\/p>\n
SOMETIMES NOT(IRE) (CAPE CROSS (IRE) x TURTLE ISLAND(IRE) x CREME DELA CREME) mustbetime
Yet another with a host of top class runs this year but also another for whome this trip might not be ideal. All his best runs have come at further and even over 6.5f latest he was doing his best work in closing near the line. With at least two confirmed pace setters here and a favourite who has a massive engine I can’t see him getting close enough to land a blow. Still even then he should still be good enough for a top five.<\/p>\n
IN A SIMPLE RHYME (FORTY NINER x MR. PROSPECTOR x SECRETARIAT) zewango4
Here’s one who quite lightly raced and still open to some improvement. He’s been running a lot of 100 plus sp’s and was a fast finishing fifth in grade III latest but only two lengths back. I see an even better run on the cards here but again I think this race will be difficult for the closers in the field due to the pace which will be on up front. Still expect an improved sp and a good run \u2013 could make the top three if the improvement is big enough.<\/p>\n
SAMOTH (STORM CAT x SILVER CHARM x CURE THE BLUES) jtlincoln
Another lightly raced improver, but not as the rate of IN A SIMPLE RHYME and on balance most of his form has been around 104-105sp’s. That’s still very good but there are some big runners in this field and he’ll have to take another step up to get in the top five here. A drop down to Grade III level might see some more wins for him but I see a mid filed finish here.<\/p>\n
A top class renewal of this race but I can’t see past CASTERLY ROCK(IRE) for the win, followed home by POLISH REALITY and SMUGGLER’S CATCH \t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AN UNREAL RACE FOR AN UNREAL HORSE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}