By Alan Carasso
Around this time last week, Case Clay, U.S. racing manager to the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani's Wathnan Racing, was trackside at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, closely monitoring the operation's two Thoroughbred entries for the Dubai World Cup meeting–Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the main event and Flood Zone (Frosted) for the G2 UAE Derby.
Clay hot-footed it to the airport after the races to board a Sydney-bound A380 for the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale and spent a few days there before heading back to the States. Contacted Friday while attending the penultimate under-tack preview for next week's OBS April Sale, Clay fought through any residual jet-lag to discuss plans for the immediate future for both runners.
A decided longshot against the likes of the prohibitively favored Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), Hit Show took flight in the stretch and was taking ground off the leaders, but even Clay was surprised at the end result.
“From our standpoint, from where we were standing, we were thinking, 'Oh good, he's going to get up for third,' and then from 100 meters out he hit a different gear and it's 'oh my goodness, we might win this,'” he said.
“Did I expect to win the race? No. He's a consistent horse and he ships well, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he would hit the board,” he added.
Despite a sharp victory in the GIII Louisiana Handicap in January, Hit Show had not yet been invited to the World Cup and the decision was made to use the GI Santa Anita Handicap as something of an audition for the $12-million contest.
“Wathnan wants to buy horses and try to win races the Emir would be proud of and the Dubai World Cup was always the target,” Clay explained. “Until we shipped, he had not been invited, but we found out before the race that he was in. We decided to go to Santa Anita anyways. Sure, he was well behind Locked (Gun Runner), but he'd won a bunch of races since we bought him and thought he fit.”
Clay indicated that Hit Show would get some 'deserved' time off and that races like the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic would be in play later this year. The World Cup was a Breeders' Cup qualifier.
“It was neat to learn that a mile and a quarter suits him, so loosely I am thinking about the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but [trainer] Brad [Cox] has managed this horse so beautifully, so we'll talk to him and see what he thinks,” he said.
Clay called Flood Zone's distant seventh in the UAE Derby a 'flat' effort.
“It was uncharacteristic of him, you compare his first three races to that and he was just flat,” he said. “We'll map out a plan for him and give him an opportunity to show what he did in his first three races.”
Courtesy of his victory in the GIII Gotham Stakes, Flood Zone currently sits on 50 points, enough to be part of the field on the first Saturday in May, but Clay is skeptical the colt will take up the assignment.
“I don't think he'll go to the Derby,” he said. “It would be quite a tall task. Had he hit the board [in the UAE Derby], we probably would have strongly considered it. But I am doubtful that he'll go.”
With news emerging Friday that UAE Derby runner-up Heart of Honor (GB) (Honor A. P.) would also be passing the Derby, Grande (Curlin), runner-up in the GII Wood Memorial Stakes for Repole Stable, has gained a spot in the field. If Flood Zone is officially declared out of the race, that would move Madaket Road (Quality Road) into the final spot.
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