re: Cry Me a River

sceptre — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:28:15 GMT

I'm a frequent reader and participant to many of these BloodHorse blogs, and feel obliged to say that this article was among the most amateurish and poorly edited I've come accross. I am ambivalent with regard the Sheikh's participation in thoroughbred racing so I come here with no bias in his favor. You maintain that his reason for Medayen and/or the Tapeta surface (in place of dirt) was motivated by a desire to lessen the competitiveness of US owned runners, thus enhancing his runners' chances. The evidence you offer, however, is downright silly. The facts are that Godolphin and Darley have succeeded well on US dirt; they are not without very talented dirt performers. When you state that he has never bred a true UAE winner of the World Cup I'm puzzled as to why you added the words UAE. He certainly, for one, bred the immortal Dubai Millennium who was likely the greatest winner of the World Cup. As I recall (but it is of little matter) Dubai Millenium competed at a UAE track prior to his victory in the World Cup. You also claim that he had no reason for also installing a turf course. Well, if there was truly no reason to install it then it would logically follow that it wouldn't have been installed. So there must have been a reason, and it was likely the same reason why many tracks that offer synthetics also have turf courses. Yes, many horses do prefer turf over synthetic, they are not one in the same. You saw him as having no reason, because only with your faulty facts and logic there would be no reason. There's more to say, but not deserving of my time. Once again The BloodHorse has failed to exercise reasonable due diligence regarding these pieces. Many novices to this game come to the site in hope of better educating themselves. You should feel some obligation (I do) to better ensure that what is written is reasonable and accurate. Should you fail to post my comments here it will reflect poorly or your integrity and sense of fair play, and further disserve those readers I mentioned. This time I will be sure to save these remarks (and the author's piece) and, if necessary, pass it along to my colleagues in the industry.