Dylan Thomas points for Jockey Club Gold Cup
 

..in a shocker, Coolmore will be pointing Dylan Thomas to the Gr. I JCGC at Belmont with an obvious attempt of trying to make the Breeders' Cup Classic instead of the Turf with him....

Since he is at his best going 1 1/2 miles on the turf, I find this very strange, especially with his strict turf breeding and the fact he'll have to face Bernardini and Invasor...they clearly just want a horse for the Classic to keep their streak going and figure he is their best chance...Hell, if Shirocco and David Junior go into the Classic like speculated, Dylan Thomas would be one of the top choices in the BC Turf, especially with Electrocutionist dead....

The over/under of lengths beaten in the JCGC should be set at about 8 IMO....

Coolmore would do ANYTHING to beat the Arabs. That's part of what's going on here.

I guess by running in the Jockey Club they can see if he can handle the dirt and either run in the BC Turf or the races in Asia if he doesn't.

OMG, this is going to be such a great day! Don't know about his chances but cheers for trying! (and before the Classic unlike David Junior's connections)

I think this is awesome... the JCGC is going to be one hell of a race! :D

I agree that this is their move in a clear grudge match between the two powers, but if I were them I wouldn't want to look stupid in the process...Bernardini and Invasor will crush that poor turf horse...

More foolish than the whole Green Monkey episode? I think not.

They may not want to race him against Hurricane Run. That is most likely part of this.

They can't stand the Sheik winning all these big races when they have dumped alot of money in the game, and this horse wouldn't be a suprise if he won:D

I'm going to guess that Coolmore has been far more financially successful in this game, dollar for dollar, than the Arabs.

Why in the heck would anybody point Shirocco for the Classic?

The same could have been said for Sakhee, he ran well...

Money.

He already won the BC Turf, his stud value is limited...unless he wins, or even places, in a race like the Classic.

True, but you would think Hurricane Run is the better horse and would have the best shot in the Classic....dunno...the Turf will be by far the easier race to win....I think Dylan Thomas could win the Turf with Shirocco running in the Classic if that happens....so could Hurricane Run but I would think he'd have a better shot in the Classic...dunno..

As for The Green Monkey thing, you obviously don't know that story too well...

Shirocco's expected to stand in Germany. That's why he didn't use Lasix last year. No horse who has used race day Lasix is permitted to stand at stud in Germany.

I know the Green Monkey story and we talked about it months ago. All you need to know are the players and you know the story. Only the numbers change.

It's too bad we don't follow suit.

I love the move. You run him here and still have the option to go to the BC Turf. If you wait until the Classic to find out if he likes dirt then you lose that option. I think more of the Euros (David Junior) should be doing this.

If you know then what is so foolish about that relative to the fued between the two camps?

Why, because the Sheik made them pay themselves more? The fact that the Sheik made his final price higher is basically irrelevent.

Probably the fact that a bold faced lie made out in the public like The Green Monkey is considered a trifle foolish.

Exactly, and it didn't mean anything - no matter who made the price higher...it could have been Fusao Sekiguchi taking the price to $16 million and it wouldn't have mattered....it had nothing to do with their 'rivalry' or hatred towards each other and a 'foolish' act towards trying to beat one another....it was simply about Demi getting his horse ....

There's no way Shirocco will stand in the US, and I don't see a ton of dirt racing happening in Europe these days. It's not like he has a commercial American pedigree where he would be useful somewhere in this nation. Makes no sense other than sheer ego to place him anywhere other than the Turf. Just my two cents.

Where did you get this info, Joel? He will get smoked by more than 8 IMO.

this is a very smart move. if he runs well they can still target the classic. if he doesn't than they run him in the turf. better to find out in a prep that he doesn't like the dirt than on breeders cup day. i personally think he is just so good that he will run well on the dirt. the jockey club gold cup might get back a little of its reputation that it once had.

the only place
i've seen this
was a rumor
on another forum
last week.
i'd like to
know too.

Actually, I laugh at the source because I usually find out about things pretty quickly in this industry, but I actually saw this when watching Wire to Wire on ESPN earlier today...Randy Moss broke the news...

u were
right.


http://bc.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=35391

The Maktoums know how to win on the dirt in America now. Coolmore/Ashford has its hands full.

The Maktoums win on the dirt in the US with horses based and trained here, not with imports. Both have done OK in the Classic without winning. Giant's Causeway and Sahkee both ran huge in defeat.

They are very good horses without American-type breeding. Bernardini is the epitome of outstanding American-type breeding.

Giant's Causeway was "American bred." By Storm Cat X Mariah's Storm, I think. Sahkee had little US/dirt breeding.

Yep, Giant's Causeway has a couple of full brothers standing stud as well... one right here in Florida. (Roar of the Tiger.) Also, Mariah's Storm was the horse behind the movie Dreamer. :cool:

Thrilled he's coming but a shame Kieren won't be here too.....

Isn't Freud full to Giant's Causeway?

Thank you. I stand corrected. In interviews with Sheikh Maktoum he talks of going to a different type of horse now. I notice that many more of his runners in America are now tracing back to Seattle Slew. In the past there were Tempera and Essence of Dubai, but now there are so many more.

Yes, he stands at Lakeland North in NY. (he rocks!)

Even if he runs well in the JCGC, he's going to Eurobounce in the Classic, they should just take their shot in the Classic...

He's quite the looker as is Roar of the Tiger. I'm not too impressed with Storm Cat's as a whole (too fragile), but most of them are impressive looking. :cool:

What do you think of A.P. Indy?

From Racing post.....

Dylan entered for prestigious US Grade 1
by Tony O'Hehir

DYLAN THOMAS could run in the US as early as next weekend in advance of a Breeders' Cup Classic bid at Churchill Downs in November.

The son of Danehill, winner of the Irish Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes this season and as short as 10-1 for the Classic, also has the option of the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park the following weekend although the earlier race has the advantage of being run on Polytrack rather than dirt.

Should the Ballydoyle-Coolmore team opt to run Dylan Thomas in the Belmont Park event it could result in the dual Group 1 winner going head to head with top US dirt performers Bernardini and Invasor, who head the betting for the Classic. The colt's trainer Aidan O'Brien said on Wednesday: "We have entered Dylan Thomas for the Grade 2 Kentucky Cup Classic over nine furlongs at Turfway Park a week on Saturday.

"We haven't decided yet whether he will go for the race as there is also the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park a week later to consider."

O'Brien added: "We are looking at giving him a run before the Breeders' Cup Classic to see how he handles what will be a new surface for him. He's in good form and we'll decide on plans over the weekend.”