Oh, it's shilly.
It isn't dirt, American racing, it isn't turf racing - as always, it is what it is. People don't like it when what they see doesn't fit into their preconceived notion of what is or is not ______ (good, bad, competitive, lackluster, etc)
And no one will ever assemble the field of all fields that will be the best in horse racing, someone will be missing somewhere. And just because there is a $10 million purse for the big one doesn't indicate it is the best race ever...
So Sheikh Mo says it is the best ever - what else do we expect from him? He's trying to market his own product.
The result on Saturday was absolutely the best thing he could have expected...when it comes down to it...he wants top horses to run in the Carnival and make the racing there as good as possible, which will therefore prop up the Dubai World Cup to an even stronger status.
Why not run for minimum purses of $110,000 while prepping for a $10 million race.
The schedule isn't perfect - nothing is...timing will always be off for some.
When the great American horses, previous winners of the race, were victorious, it was almost always a two or three horse race with bunch of nameless plodders filling the field. $10 million and the Tapeta is different. There were 11 G1 winners in this year's edition, and not surprisingly, those acclimated to race day conditions did the best.
If anything, I think the 2010 Dubai World Cup has provided a great blueprint for those who would like to have some success in future years. If American horsemen chose to engage, great...if not, their loss...because someone will pick up the slack.
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