Lava Man to Dubai
 

Is this old news? I just read about it on drf.com (http://www.drf.com/news/article/83183.html)
This move makes no sense to me at all.
KEEP HIM IN CALIFORNIA!!!

altho many think he should stay where he's been so successful--why not take the chance? yeah, he's winless when shipping, but he bounces right back when he gets home.
besides, you don't know if you don't try.


good luck in dubai lava man! we'll be rooting for ya!

c'mon, you know you'll pull for him.

But, those other races he lost were on dirt, no ? Why not take a chance for a $5 mil purse ? Maybe he's bilingual ! This race will certainly be his last road trip if he underperforms, as they will have no cover.

lol he can ONLY beat up on glorfied high priced claimers in socal forever, yet they still decide to send him across to Dubai only to lose royally. Unreal

I will be cheering for him, but if he can't ship to the Midwest, how is he going to ship to the Middle-East?
There are plenty of good races in SoCal and his ability to win on dirt and turf means he could spend the entire year racking up G1s and G2s. Instead they are going to ruin a big chunk of his year on this pointless quest, after he has proven consistently that he does not like to leave SoCal. This makes no sense to me. Why not just be happy dominating both the turf and dirt older horse divisions in Cali? That is impressive enough fo me.

If he ships to Dubai he will never be the same horse when he comes back to SoCal. I will be the first to say that Lava Mans connections are NUTS and Lava Man is done. You can put a fork in him as soon as he ships.

i would go to churchill for the turf race there, he might run big on turf out of cali, and if he does then you can ship all over the country for big turf races... there are so many big grade 1 turf races with big purses, i dont see why there going to dubai with this guy

This purse is more than big I believe.

$5,000,000.

i realize that, but that trip to dubai ruins horses, and at this point they dont even know if he will ship. they can stay here, and if he ships well for the turf they can run in the woodford reserve, the manhatan, arlington million, united nations, and im sure there are a bunch out there in cali, there are also a few big one's at belmont in the fall

If he went to any of the races you have mentioned,he would get his ASS KICKED!!! Just like what will happen in Dubai

This is probably closer to the truth....

He will most likely get stroked in Dubai.

But I thought The Tin Man would get raped last year as well, and he got a good second.

wowowow i never said i like him, i did not say he would win those races i just think it's a better idea for the horse. i think showing up would run him off the track on the turf, anywhere in cali or anywhere i also think the tin man and english channel are alot better on turf along with a few others

Umm while I am just a tad prejudiced, Tin got a great second. Had to set all the pace because of a poor post and ran his guts out to barely get beat by a very nice horse. I am beyond shocked that they would ship Lava Man....must less to Dubai. With all of the races he could win here I am amazed.

Okay..... upped to great second from good second.

David Junior pissed on all of them though. Rudely, I might add.

While I still think that sending him to Dubai is a terrible idea, Danzig188 does make a good point here. The Dubai trip might not ruin him. Remember when they sent him to Japan? He ran his usual terrible race when shipped (finished 11th I think) but he bounced back and won the Sunshine Millions two months after that race, and then followed that up with six straight stakes wins that year including 4 G1s. He definitely hates shipping, but it does not really seem to affect his performance once he returns to SoCal.

Dubai is a bad idea, but this campaign would not make much sense either. He does not like going to Louisville or New York. I think he would fail there on the turf as much as he failed there on the dirt. The point is, this horse is so effective in SoCal, that it makes no sense to send him anywhere else, after he has proven repeatedly that he can't do it.

it does not ruin horses. look at the year invasor had after dubai! i think they only take so much time off for blueblood horses, give them plenty of time to get over their trip. his campaign last year was definitive proof that shipping to dubai doesn't mean a lost season.

ok it ruins SOME HORSES, its a risk that i dont think anyone should take, the only reasson they go there is for the $ campaign your horse over here and point to the breeders cup, it might not be a lost seasson IF he ships ok, but its definitly a lost 3-4 months.

some horses can ship, some can't. but to not ship any because some don't like it imo is silly. some horses can't run in the slop, should they cancel all racing over an off-track?
i don't think it ruins the horses. i think some just need more time to recover then others. if your horse is a good shipper, what the heck-go for it. if he's not, then don't.
and a lot of horses don't miss much time, i think 3-4 months is the exception, not the rule.

Right....but Lava Man isn't.