[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by Soaring Softly

One would think Raven's Pass would be just the kind of horse Sheikh Mohammed would want to win his DWC and then go for a repeat in the Breeders Cup, especially when it's going to be run again at Santa Anita. I don't get it.

While I don't like it, I think I understand his retiring all those 3yos from last year to Darley Jonabell. He clearly wants to establish breeding dominance all over the world (Pacific Rim isn't going to happen btw), and if you want to do that, you certainly have to sink your teeth into Kentucky, especially when the stud market has recently been high on young stallions covering their first 2 or 3 books.

But Raven's Pass I don't understand. Why would he retire this 3yo Breeders Cup Classic winner to his Stud in Ireland? Raven's Pass is an outstanding grass miler in Europe, but he stretched out on the main track (Pro-Ride) at 10 furlongs to win the second-richest race in the world. Why would he go to stud in Ireland?

And why wouldn't Raven's Pass be pointed toward a repeat at the same venue where he won so impressively? If he were to win the Dubai World Cup and then repeat in the Breeders Cup Classic, he would be a huge stallion prospect in North America. But he's retired and goes to Ireland.

I just had a thought...maybe Raven's Pass is retired, and he doesn't stand in Kentucky in order to protect Street Cry.........just a thought.

The breeding side of the game is not something that interests me so I don't pay too much attention to it so I may be way off here but that's never stopped me from giving my opinion before so here goes.

First, Raven's Pass won on a turf course masquerading as a dirt one when he won at Santa Anita. That win does absolutely nothing as far as indicating how well he'd handle a real dirt course in Dubai. Two totally different animals.

Second, it's always been my belief that horses reach a peak in their value (as far as stud value) and keeping them on the track to win more races (or lose them) won't change that value. I've had to change that belief somewhat now because of the introduction of synthetics. It used to be that once a horse had proven he could win on both surfaces, there was no further need to have him prove anything. Now, a horse like Raven's Pass still can prove himself on dirt.

Third, while Raven's Pass can still prove himself on dirt, I think that the Sheikh is not really interested in that. Remember, the rest of the world still runs on grass, the United States is slowly moving totally towards synthetics, and perhaps more important, the track they are building in Dubai is going to be synthetic also. Since he's proven himself on it already, that may be enough for them.