A close second!　Dubai Sand” and “Straight Line Trap” Swallowed Forever Young, the “World’s Strongest Horse” from Japan

Amidst the tension of an air raid alarm

Just after the finish line of the Dubai World Cup on March 28. While the jockey riding the American runner-up Magnitude raised his whip and struck a gut-punching pose, Rusei Sakai, 28, straddling the back of the 5-year-old Forever Young, nodded his head and looked down at the Dubai sands.

Due to the armed conflict with Iran, air raid alarms were sounded at night and drones were seen flying over the area, creating a tense atmosphere in the area. The stands on the day of the race were also deserted, symbolizing the “Dubai in a state of emergency,” but even in such a situation, Japanese fans were pinning their hopes on one absolute champion.

Forever Young, the first Japanese horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the U.S. last fall, reigned as the “World’s Strongest Dirt Horse” in both name and reality. As the absolute champion, everyone thought that Forever Young could win this race this year after finishing third last year.

As soon as the gate opened, Forever Young was in excellent position, in second place. As the race went on, Forever Young kept within striking distance of Magnitude, who was running away from the field, and as the race entered the straight line, he responded to Sakai’s strong challenge by stretching out his legs, but was unable to catch the winner, who was in front of him until the end. The result was second place. Once again, he failed to reach the pinnacle of Dubai.

The horse was supposed to have had a perfect rotation. He had won the Saudi Cup for the first time in his career, but his management had not overworked him.

He is never 100% as far as his condition is concerned,” he said before and after the race.

Yoshito Yahagi, 65, the trainer, said before and after the Saudi Cup race. He was determined to win the Dubai World Cup, where he had finished third last year. In order to make the most of the Dubai World Cup, he had left some room for improvement in Saudi Arabia.

Although JRA did not release tickets for the Dubai World Cup, the odds for the winner of the Dubai World Cup by European bookmakers were around 1.6 times. The odds for the winner of the Dubai World Cup were around 1.6 times, making him the clear favorite. Why was the absolute champion of the world cup knocked off his feet when there was an atmosphere of “he deserved to win”?

After the race, trainer Yahagi appeared in front of the press and, while expressing his frustration, stated in an unaffected manner, “It was a lack of strength on the part of the trainer.

He said, “It was a lack of strength on the part of the trainer. I have no excuses. I really think there are no excuses.

While stating that there were no excuses for the race, from the condition to the race’s development, the trainer could only speculate on the cause of the defeat. The only factor that he could speculate on was the “track condition.

The way he responded in the third and fourth turns was totally different from the Saudi C. (The reason for his defeat) was the track. （I guessed that it was the track. When he comes to Dubai, his performance drops a little, so I think he is not suited for the race.

In fact, the quality of sand at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia and Meydan Racecourse in Dubai are very different, even though they are on the same “dirt.

Saudi Arabia’s dirt is mixed with woodchips and man-made materials, making it a special kind of track where horses that would run on grass tend to run well,” he said. On the other hand, Dubai’s dirt is a real sand track that is more like American dirt. There is a clear difference in aptitude.

Says Satoshi Hiramatsu, a horse racing journalist who is well versed in the ins and outs of overseas horse racing. The difference in sand quality between Saudi Arabia and Dubai is the reason why trainer Yahagi said, “Maybe it’s the track. However, Mr. Hiramatsu does not believe that the “aptitude for the track” was the only reason for his defeat.

Of course, I cannot say that the quality of the dirt has nothing to do with it. However, if you have such high ability as Forever Young, you can run on any track in any country. I think the biggest cause of his defeat, before his aptitude, was that he fell into the “straight line trap,” which is peculiar to this race.

In the Dubai World Cup, for some reason, it is very common for the horse that goes to the front to open up a wide gap between himself and the chasing pack. Instead of just barely overtaking the chasing horses, the horses in the lead pull away as they enter the straight line. This time, the race was exactly like a ‘typical Dubai race.

Why does such a “trap in the straight line” occur in the Dubai World Cup?

Yutaka Take (57) said that the kickback (sand bounced up by the horse in front) is very painful on Dubai’s dirt tracks. I think that in some cases, the pain may cause horses that are exposed to the sand to lose their desire to run.

However, this time, Forever Young was running in second position on the track, smoothly following the winner’s outside, and was not in a position to be disgusted by the deadly sand.

(The same paragraph applies.) So, was the winner a monster who could overpower the “World’s Strongest,” Mr. Hiramatsu doubts that as well.

The Americans are always strong in this race, and the winner, Magnitude, is also an American horse,” he said. However, Magnitude is a horse that was once outpaced by more than 10 lengths by Sovereignty, the top horse in the U.S. (who avoided the BC Classic). Considering the inherent power of the field, Forever Young should not have been the one to beat.”

He was not at a disadvantage from the sand, nor was his opponent a top horse. He had prepared for the race with all possible preparations, and despite his perfect performance, somehow the absolute champion lost the race. In horse racing, it is not uncommon for the absolute best to suffer a setback. It is not a single cause of defeat, but rather a combination of several negative factors.

In the case of the recent defeat, however, the cause of the defeat is still unclear, to the extent that even the trainer himself, Mr. Yahagi, is puzzled and wonders, “Why? The “magical power” of Maidan, which can bring about results that defy logic, may have been the biggest factor in the defeat of the strongest horse in the race.

Winning on the World Stage” has become the norm

Since the mid-2000s, Japanese horses have been recognized as being at the world’s top level in the middle-distance turf races, while for a long time, dirt horses had been unable to compete on the world stage.

However, the situation has changed drastically in the past five years. Now, Japanese dirt horses are performing well in G1 races overseas as a matter of course. Considering the situation in the past, this is a remarkable change. Mr. Hiramatsu describes the current situation as follows.

Until a few years ago, it was unthinkable that a Japanese horse would be disappointed to lose in the Dubai World Cup. At that time, the world’s barriers were so thick that it was commonplace for horses to be unable to stand up to the challenge.

However, nowadays, with the introduction of stallions suited to dirt racing, it is commonplace for horses to be bred to focus exclusively on dirt racing before their debut. As the practice of creating horses that “specialize in dirt,” aiming for the pinnacle on the sand stage from the start, has become widespread, Japanese horses have been able to show their high aptitude for middle-distance racing on dirt as well.

Forever Young was a disappointment, but with the change in the training environment as a backdrop, we can expect to see more and more promising dirt horses emerge in the future. It won’t be long before the second or third Forever Young adapts to the “Dubai sands” and makes up for it.