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Originally Posted by NoChanceToDance
Dark Islander had ability both before and after his initial trip to America, and his style of racing meant it was no surprise for many of us that he ran so well over there. Before he won at Santa Anita he was in good form at home. Comparing a horse like him to Egypt is like comparing chalk and cheese.
Dark Islander had shown form, whereas Egypt only ever showed he had a small amount of ability in one of his starts (when second to Arazan) and the winner apart, it wasn't a very good race.
His next start was of even worse quality, which was why he was sent of a 1-3 favourite. He finished fourth and never looked like winning. Looking very one-paced in the process. If you look at the write ups of his races, almost every race will say "kept on" and "one paced".
He was used as a pacesetter in some of the major races, but many because he could go from the front and set an honest gallop but once he got to that pace he didn't have any other gears.
I'm not saying he won't improve in America, but he will need to because he couldn't win a poor quality maiden race in Ireland.
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I would agree with that assessment, I remember betting him that day he showed up at SA off non group 1 or 2 status races and winning a Gr 2 race off of that european form, that was more of the point of was making and really taking a stab that a listed stks winner could make the jump to an American stake, in this case the Oak Tree Derby. He turned out to be the right choice but at the time it was a tough choice to make.